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Vitamin D can help reduce coronavirus risk by 54%: Boston University doctor
Boston Herald ^ | September 19, 2020 | Alexi Cohen

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.



TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chinavirus; chinavirusinfo; vitd
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To: dp0622

Comes in liquid form too. An eyedropper under the tongue, wait 15 seconds, swallow.

I have an aversion to horse pills.


21 posted on 12/27/2020 6:24:51 AM PST by Hostage (Article V)
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To: billorites

I have a friend age 80+, never smoked or drank liquor, nutritionally “aware,” healthy but for some arthritis, and has been taking vitamin D supplements for years though she lives in sunny FL. (Not in a nursing home.)
She has covid and I’ve been anticipating bad news.
So it doesn’t always help, D3, wish I knew why.


22 posted on 12/27/2020 6:25:17 AM PST by Buttons12 ( )
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To: SamAdams76

I read it’s also good for depression?


23 posted on 12/27/2020 6:25:27 AM PST by caww ( )
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To: billorites
I wish they would pick IU or mg. And I think some people think 'units' is one or the other.

24 posted on 12/27/2020 6:28:44 AM PST by Right Wing Assault (Die-ggl,TWT,FCBK,NYT,WPo,Hwd,CNN,NFL,BLM,CAIR,Antf,SPLC,ESPN,NPR,NBA,ARP,MSNBC )
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To: caww

Well I haven’t been depressed for decades, so there might be something to that.


25 posted on 12/27/2020 6:33:10 AM PST by SamAdams76
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To: Pontiac
Vitamin D suppresses excessive cytokine release that can present as a cytokine storm, a common cause of COVID-related morbidity and mortality.

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.

This information has been available to anyone paying attention since at least April. The actual mechanism seems to be that D3 prevents a bradykinin storm which also affects cytokine storms.

As to D3 being a Zinc Ionophore, no that would be Quercetin, ECGC and HCQ.

D3(Vitamin and Hormone) and Ivermectin are the two miracle "drugs" for Covid. Both as preventative and anti-inflammatory during an invection. There are a number of other processes going on with both of these as well.

26 posted on 12/27/2020 6:37:12 AM PST by Malsua
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To: billorites
and taking vitamin D pills comes at no risk. “It’s perfectly safe,” Holick said.

That's not entirely true. You can take too much as it is stored in body fat. From the Mayo Clinic:

The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is a buildup of calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination. Vitamin D toxicity might progress to bone pain and kidney problems, such as the formation of calcium stones.
Not discounting what he says in the article. The "D Hammer" has worked for me. But there is an upper limit to how much you should take.
27 posted on 12/27/2020 6:37:42 AM PST by NonValueAdded ("Sorry, your race card has been declined. Can you present any other form of argument?")
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To: Pontiac

I think you have may have been confusing Vitamin D with Quercetin, a Zinc ionophore.


28 posted on 12/27/2020 6:42:58 AM PST by Atticus
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To: Buttons12

80+ put her in high risk to begin with. Just wear and tear on the body over the years will weaken.


29 posted on 12/27/2020 6:43:44 AM PST by caww ( )
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To: Buttons12

80+ put her in high risk to begin with. Just wear and tear on the body over the years will weaken.


30 posted on 12/27/2020 6:43:44 AM PST by caww ( )
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To: dp0622

I take @ 10,000 a day...to keep my level between 60-80 where it should be


31 posted on 12/27/2020 6:44:01 AM PST by goodnesswins (The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution." -- Saul Alinksy)
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To: dp0622

PS ...you are taking K2 also, right? Need it with the D...otherwise could end up with “hardening of the arteries”


32 posted on 12/27/2020 6:45:55 AM PST by goodnesswins (The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution." -- Saul Alinksy)
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To: SamAdams76

I’ve been taking atleast 2,000 IU’s per day since this Covid mess showed up and vitamin reports came out quickly. 1,000mg of Vit C, 2,000 - 4,000 IU’s of VitD3, and I was taking some Magnesium in powder form at night.


33 posted on 12/27/2020 6:47:41 AM PST by MachIV
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To: SamAdams76

Neither have I. But then I’m a rather upbeat individual to begin with.


34 posted on 12/27/2020 6:50:22 AM PST by caww ( )
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To: Malsua

Why does a roundworm medication, Ivermectin, help with Covid?


35 posted on 12/27/2020 6:51:47 AM PST by nevergore (I have a terrible rash on my covfefe....)
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To: USCG SimTech

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.

Exactly. In our modern world, we’ve become indoor dwellers. We live at home. We work in offices. We drive to work in cars. Few, other than perhaps construction workers, are outdoors for a meaningful portion of the day.

I know for myself, since I started taking a daily 5,000 IU vitamin D3 capsule, I basically never get a cold. I use to reliably get 3 or 4 colds per year.


36 posted on 12/27/2020 6:54:55 AM PST by Flick Lives (#resist)
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To: billorites

I’ve been taking 2000 IU daily and my blood level is 51 (desired range is 30-100), calcium is at 9.1 (desired range 8.6-10.3), but that was with a lot of sun exposure from yard work. I have some calcium buildup on my aorta hence the need to be careful and watch the upper limit of intake. I could stand to bump up my winter D intake, though. And I need to add K to the mix.

BTW, the “Healthy Eyes” vitamin has a lot of zinc (40 mg, 364% of the MDR) which is also important with WuFlu out and about.


37 posted on 12/27/2020 6:55:43 AM PST by NonValueAdded ("Sorry, your race card has been declined. Can you present any other form of argument?")
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To: billorites

Been taking it for about 5 years now. Probably the least controversial issue out there that Vitamin D is a Good Thing.


38 posted on 12/27/2020 6:56:24 AM PST by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
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To: billorites

Zinc and Vit.D3 plus K2 - nary a sniffle in the past two years taking the stuff.


39 posted on 12/27/2020 7:00:52 AM PST by SkyDancer
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To: dp0622

Is it best to take the liquid form or pill?


40 posted on 12/27/2020 7:07:44 AM PST by Democrats hate too much
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