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Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

mdpi.com

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Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#41

Post by deelowe »

andi999 wrote: post #26

I remember that there also was the result that supplementing does not help if you have covid. So to me it looks just like correlation and not causation (old sick people do not go out often and have less vitamin D. Probably same reason while you can find health benifits for alcohol: sick people stop drinking )

Studies seem to be mixed. I've had a hard time finding any that looked at individuals who supplement. Most seem to focus on vitamin d at infection onset or during critical care which is too late. Vitamin D takes about a month of loading for it to have an effect. The one study I did find had a very small sample size.

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#42

Post by Mountain_Skies »

nostromo wrote: post #17
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #10

It's unfortunate that it is not simple to get regular tests for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The whole process seems to be stuck behind the doctor appointment firewall. This might be one of the reasons why Theranos was so readily believed. As the quantified self movement that gained popularity around the same time showed, there's an appetite in certain segments of the population for this type of testing and trac…

This does exist now. Places like https://www.everlywell.com/ will test all sorts of things for you over the internet -- no doctor required.

If you ask a hundred random people on the street about this, how many would know about it? Transparency is a huge problem here.

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#43

Post by tehlike »

schoolornot wrote: post #34
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #10

It's unfortunate that it is not simple to get regular tests for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The whole process seems to be stuck behind the doctor appointment firewall. This might be one of the reasons why Theranos was so readily believed. As the quantified self movement that gained popularity around the same time showed, there's an appetite in certain segments of the population for this type of testing and trac…

When I'm feeling ill or need a test I call a friend of mine who is a nurse practitioner in another state. She has a ballpark idea of my current health, enough info to fit on an index card. Then she files a script with the pharmacy or writes me a prescription for a blood test. The whole thing is done in 5 minutes. In fact, the whole thing is done over iMessage. Firewall is the perfect term. Everyone knows the industry…

Amazon is starting to. See their recent announcements.

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#44

Post by stordoff »

dorfsmay wrote: post #11
rgrieselhuber wrote: post #7

Getting sunlight in the morning, in particular, seems important. Even in winter months, I'll go outside for 30 minutes or so in nothing but shorts and do farmer walks, etc. and feel great throughout the day.

In winter, in the more northerly latitudes, being outside is not sufficient, because of the angle at which the sun ray hit, the skin cannot make vitamin D.

For instance in the UK:

> At latitudes below 37ᵒN, UVB radiation is sufficient for year round vitamin D synthesis. At higher latitude, vitamin D is not synthesised during the winter months. In the UK, sunlight-induced vitamin D synthesis is only effective between late March/early April and September and not from October onwards throughout the winter months.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#45

Post by tertius »

akulbe wrote: post #16

What is the actual RDA for Vitamin D? There seems to be some dispute on it. Not sure who to trust.

Depends on how well you absorb it personally.

For instance, if you're deficient, you need more.

If you're older you need more.

If you have a darker skin color you need more.

It's fairly hard to get toxicity (still to be avoided).

I take 50k IU per week and is good enough for me. Fat soluble so don't need it every day. But, don't take my advice on specifics...

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#46

Post by peteretep »

KLexpat wrote: post #6
Exmoor wrote: post #3

I must admit I was completely ignorant of the effects of Vitamin D deficiency on common illnesses such as the flu as well as how unbelievably common that deficiency is for people living in much of the northern hemisphere. Will it cure COVID19? No. But do I think there's a decent chance it will improve my outcome while simultaneously improving my ability to fight off other viruses. I am honestly completely shocked tha…

The problem is that vitamin D absorption is one of those things linked to ethnicity. It is very basic and undisputed science that lower melanin in skin = higher vitamin D absorption. No European educational institution or government wants to publicise research highlighting that ethnic groups indigenous to the northern hemisphere are more suited to the natural environment they are endemic too, and less likely to have…

> No European educational institution or government wants to publicise research highlighting that ethnic groups etc

This is just not true and sounds like some weird dog whistle:

https://ambulance.libguides.com/c.php?g=677734&p=4854430

From there is the following study which concludes “ Greater risk of severe COVID-19 in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic populations is not explained by cardiometabolic, socioeconomic or behavioural factors, or by 25(OH)-vitamin D status” — so part of the reason this viewpoint isn’t getting more traction is simply that it doesn’t seem to be true

https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/42/3/451/5859581

In conclusion: “race realism” requires you to ignore the actual scientific data, as usual.

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#47

Post by lazyasciiart »

KLexpat wrote: post #6
Exmoor wrote: post #3

I must admit I was completely ignorant of the effects of Vitamin D deficiency on common illnesses such as the flu as well as how unbelievably common that deficiency is for people living in much of the northern hemisphere. Will it cure COVID19? No. But do I think there's a decent chance it will improve my outcome while simultaneously improving my ability to fight off other viruses. I am honestly completely shocked tha…

The problem is that vitamin D absorption is one of those things linked to ethnicity. It is very basic and undisputed science that lower melanin in skin = higher vitamin D absorption. No European educational institution or government wants to publicise research highlighting that ethnic groups indigenous to the northern hemisphere are more suited to the natural environment they are endemic too, and less likely to have…

> No European educational institution or government wants to publicise research highlighting that ethnic groups indigenous to the northern hemisphere are more suited to the natural environment they are endemic too

“The problem” is more likely to be the existence of studies finding low vitamin D in African people who live in African countries and American native people who live in America, making your theory that people should live where they came from pretty suspect as a solution.

As a public health message, “black people need to be careful about sunburn” has presumably been considered more important than “black people have low vitamin D”, because of the widespread false belief that people with dark skin are immune to skin cancer.

Re: Vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost 90% of Covid-19 deaths

#49

Post by tertius »

beervirus wrote: post #28

The big question is whether taking vitamin D supplements would address this, or whether having low vitamin D just happens to correlate with the real risk factors (sedentary, indoor lifestyle; unhealthy diet; obesity; etc.).

Any of these studies include your metrics of interest? I.e. BMI, blood pressure etc.?
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