Posted on 12/27/2020 5:53:04 AM PST by billorites
Stop waiting for a miracle drug: A Boston University doctor says a sufficient amount of vitamin D can cut the risk of catching coronavirus by 54%.
“People have been looking for the magic drug or waiting for the vaccine and not looking for something this simple,” said Dr. Michael Holick, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine.
Holick and his colleagues studied blood samples from Quest Diagnostics of more than 190,000 Americans from all 50 states and found that those who had deficient levels of vitamin D had 54% higher COVID positivity compared to those with adequate levels of vitamin D in the blood.
The risk of getting coronavirus continued to decline as vitamin D levels increased, the study, published in the Public Library of Science One peer-reviewed journal shows.
“The higher your vitamin D status, lower was your risk,” Holick said.
Many people are vitamin D-deficient because there are only small amounts in food, Holick said. Most vitamin D comes from sun exposure and many are deprived, especially during winter months.
But the sunshine vitamin is easy to find and relatively cheap in drug stores, and taking vitamin D pills comes at no risk. “It’s perfectly safe,” Holick said.
“It’s considered to be, by many, the nutrient of the decade,” Holick said.
COVID-19 positivity is strongly associated with vitamin D levels in the blood, a relationship that stayed the same across different races, sexes and age ranges, the study states.
Vitamin D suppresses excessive cytokine release that can present as a cytokine storm, a common cause of COVID-related morbidity and mortality.
A deficiency in the nutrient alters the immune system, making one more likely to get upper respiratory infections, Holick said.
Throughout the pandemic, people of color have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus, experiencing a higher risk of acquiring it and having serious complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Holick’s study examined the ZIP codes of people of color and found patients from predominantly Black and Hispanic ZIP codes had lower levels of vitamin D and were also more likely to have coronavirus than in patients from predominantly white, non-Hispanic ZIP codes.
The average adult needs around 2,000 units of vitamin D a day, Holick said. He said he’s been taking 6,000 units a day for decades and is in great health.
Several other studies on vitamin D have shown its benefits to the immune system.
Research published with the National Institutes of Health showed people with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to self-report a recent upper respiratory tract infection than those with sufficient levels.
Another study of more than 11,000 participants published in the British Medical Journal found vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of acute respiratory tract infection among all participants.
“Vitamin D definitely improves your overall immunity to fight infections,” Holick said.
I have a prescription for 50,000 mgs a week. My D is low.
It is a very cheap vitamin even without a script.
I’ve always been a night owl. Lack of sun might explain it.
So where do people get that, I have a brother...
This is the first I have read this.
I had read that Vitamin D helps transport Zink in to cells and that Zink prevents viral replication in cells.
Once a person floods the system with the hormone, D3, there is a lag of about 2 weeks for that proper, higher concentration to drop low. Once a 2 week regimen of 20,000 IU establishes the proper fill, a 5,000 to 6,000 IU daily replenishment is adequate to maintain an expected D3 hormone level.
This level is usually established by being outside in the direct sunshine causing the skin to generate as much as 20,000 IU with just 30 minutes of direct, full Sun exposure when shirtless. Humans aren’t designed to be building or cave dwellers.
Who doesn’t take vitamins these days. Alot simpler and cheaper than medicine.
Unless they're Irish, in which case they are expected to stay under a constant layer of thick clouds, or in a pub.
CIS: Crappy Irish Skin. It can happen to you if you're not careful.
We take 4,000 per day with K2, Quercetin, super B and Tumeric.
Which explain why it (and the common flu) flares up in the cold winter months. People need their Vitamin D and from about November to February, the sun just isn't high enough in the sky in most U.S. latitudes to be a factor.
There are foods high in Vitamin D such as eggs (with the yolks), fatty fish like sardines, and beef liver. But people have been brainwashed into avoiding these incredibly nutritious foods.
Even though I eat those foods regularly, I still take 2,000 to 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D in pill form (less in summer when I am getting sun).
Many articles posted here about the benefits of Vitamin D but it can't be posted enough times.
I take 5,000 IUs of d3 each day, and have been since early May. Have heard I need to take some K along with it, so will check in to that.
Vitamins A, C, D3, K2, Zinc, and Quercetin. Very affordable.
And what helps to produce vitamin D...
Vitamin K2, MK-7.
There are quite a few 5000 IU D3 incorporating K2 on the market
I am not a pill popper.
I drink milk, whole milk, not that watered down crap.
Every day
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