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Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

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Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#71

Post by nradov »

graeme wrote: post #9
ve55 wrote: post #2

Although this is a notable finding it's important to remember that it doesn't lead to the conclusion that supplementing vitamin D will be very beneficial here. When vitamin D is produced in the body naturally via exposure to sunlight there's a huge amount of other things that occur as well, and we don't have a ton of good science to back up if curing a vitamin D deficiency via supplementation of pure vitamin D is rea…

What about this section of the pdf? From a 2016 study on patients with other respiratory diseases. —————- High dose vitamin D administration in ventilated intensive care unit patients: A pilot double blind randomized controlled trial In the study, patients with vitamin D deficiency ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221462371... —————— Ah, the pdf has a second such study. Mortality almost half less…

Also see this letter by Dr. Gerry Schwalfenberg. It's just an anecdote but his claim of success in treating influenza patients with a "vitamin D hammer" is interesting and should prompt additional research.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4463890/

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#72

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

BurningCycles wrote: post #48
sharpneli wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Finland we put Vitamin D in milk that’s sold on normal shops. And taking a supplement is heavily recommended. Though this is mostly because for 6 months of a year one simply cannot get it the natural way (too cold and sun is too low). And thanks to this we don’t have much deficiency, long time ago we used to have. Not saying it means it would help with covid. But the supplements definitely help with deficiency in…

>In Finland we put Vitamin D in milk that’s sold on normal shops. I'd wager it's the same in all the Nordic countries, at least it's the same here in Sweden. A couple a months ago when I spoke to my dad, he told me he had a checkup because he had been unusually tired, turned out that the only thing the testing showed was that he had d-vitamin deficiency. What surprised me is that he was given prescription d-vitamins,…

My wife was given these, during the early part of her pregnancy. I too, was surprised that they came via prescription.

The dosage did work out to be 50x what was in the standard products though.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#73

Post by nradov »

mrfusion wrote: post #56
ve55 wrote: post #2

Although this is a notable finding it's important to remember that it doesn't lead to the conclusion that supplementing vitamin D will be very beneficial here. When vitamin D is produced in the body naturally via exposure to sunlight there's a huge amount of other things that occur as well, and we don't have a ton of good science to back up if curing a vitamin D deficiency via supplementation of pure vitamin D is rea…

> When vitamin D is produced in the body naturally via exposure to sunlight there's a huge amount of other things that occur as well Any further reading on that? On the other hand worth supplementation you don’t get the harmful uv rays.

There is no evidence that a brief daily exposure to UV rays is actually harmful in terms of all-cause mortality.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#74

Post by y-c-o-m-b »

dirtyid wrote: post #7

Everyone should try a Vitamin D cycle if only to see if makes a big difference in daily life, especially if you live in area with sad winters. It's one of the few supplements that dramatically improves mood for those deficient or sensitive to large doses.

I can provide my anecdote. I live near Portland, OR and been taking 5000IU of Vitamin D for years. It doesn't do anything to help with seasonal sadness. Neither do those "sun lamps". The only thing I've found helpful (although short-lived) for that is literally leaving the state for a week to somewhere warmer; like Hawaii or San Diego. The sadness comes back shortly after returning though, and sometimes even worse than before. It seems to me that treating seasonal depression is more complicated than simply taking medication or sitting in front of a lamp.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#76

Post by archildress »

I think the findings are good and interesting but I wish we could dodge the politicized angle of this:

"A lockdown would then be just as unnecessary as the justified fear of our elderly fellow citizens and the risk groups, which imposes an abnormal life on all of us."

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#77

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

nradov wrote: post #70
ve55 wrote: post #2

Although this is a notable finding it's important to remember that it doesn't lead to the conclusion that supplementing vitamin D will be very beneficial here. When vitamin D is produced in the body naturally via exposure to sunlight there's a huge amount of other things that occur as well, and we don't have a ton of good science to back up if curing a vitamin D deficiency via supplementation of pure vitamin D is rea…

One effect of sunlight exposure is to stimulate production of nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure. Hypertension is one of the most common comorbid conditions for COVID-19 deaths. I don't know if there's a causal relationship but it could be worth further research.

That's interesting. Do you have pointers to relevant research?

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#78

Post by blurbleblurble »

I've been very frustrated in my attempts to raise this issue with the local health department where I live. I was brushed aside, and was told "correlation does not imply causation". I doubt that the person on the phone wanted to get into a conversation about dynamical systems or nonlinear data analysis, so I didn't even go there.

Instead I sent a letter full of references to published research, and citing other letters (peer reviewed) urging public health officials to recommend safe levels of supplementation. I received 0 engagement. I should really send the letter every day until someone responds.

Aside from all of the promising anecdotal evidence and population studies, there is plenty of established theory to understand just how Vitamin D might help lessen the load of Covid-19. Decades of published, reviewed research have shown that Vitamin D:

- helps regulate calcium metabolism and ionization... disregulated calcium levels are also linked to poor covid outcomes

- downregulates some of the same inflammatory cytokines involved in the positive feedback loops seen in bad covid cases

- directly regulates the expression of ACE-2 genes

- regulates the renin-angiotensin system

- regulates circadian rhythm

Other supplements that work with Vitamin D to help regulate calcium metabolism and ionization are also promising, including K2 and magnesium.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.01.20112334v...

A friend of mine who's a doctor also told me that a lot of people with bad covid outcomes just have general electrolyte imbalances. To what degree is this pandemic just a manifestation of basic malnutrition on a massive scale?

At this point, I've come to the conclusion that there is a systemic conflict of interest in many health systems around the world. It's most blatant in the US. Specifically: It seems that there are certain "neo-Malthusian" individuals high up in the chains of command who simply have no interest in implementing low risk, low cost measures that prevent loss of life, and instead use their power to further cater to the already privileged groups of people they deem fit for life. This goes beyond covid-19.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#79

Post by adventured »

r00fus wrote: post #31
BurningFrog wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically true, but you should still eat vitamin D supplements. It's very cheap and safe, so worst case it has less effect than you hope. You can overdose, but you have to really crazy with the dosage. Also 1: Vitamin D supplements do cure rickets. Also 2: All of us who eat supplements should show up in the stats as high in vitamin D, so the data does partially cover that case.

What brand/strength of VitaminD supplements do you all take?

I registered a 5 ng/ml with a blood test. I wasn't feeling tired or seeing any negative effects at that time from it and most likely it had been low for a decade. However for obvious reasons I began immediately taking actions to move that number persistently into a healthy range.

I've been using a D3 supplement of 5000 IU from NatureWise, for several years. I take one per day depending on the time of year. It's inexpensive, ~$11-12 for a year supply, and it has worked very well. I take it daily throughout Fall & Winter, and then lighten up on it during Summer.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#80

Post by shock »

hrasyid wrote: post #66

Is this a peer-reviewed finding? As someone without expertise in the area how do I evaluate its credibility?

How do you evaluate the credibility of anything in life? I'm not being facetious, it's a question I've been asking myself a lot lately after making decisions based on the information from a medical doctor, who, turns out, was not competent to make certain affirmations.
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