Better start drinking more milk and getting some sun or supplement.
Personal experience…I started taking vitamin d immediately during the first wave of covid based on a rec from a physician friend of mine. Figured it sure couldn’t hurt. Fully vaxxed, in my 70’s, reasonable shape. Have had many friends and family come down with covid, from mild to severe, To my knowledge, I have not had covid despite taking very few precautions. Attended all BB and FB games the last two years, attended concerts, etc. Was outside a lot riding my bike. I’m either extremely fortunate or there may be something to this.
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As Covid becomes an endemic thing, which it is, the link of good nutrition and healthy lifestyles is going to be as let as it is against all the other bugs running around.
Medical stuff like vaccines will provide a letter of protection against catching and severity. But more importantly having your body in good shape will be more even more paramount. The fewer issues you have the greater chance of non severe illness or negative outcomes.
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Great point Bryant. We have had a major obese problem in our country for many years. This pandemic only exposed it. We often write/debate about schools. It makes no sense that public/charter and private schools do not have a class dedicated to nutrition and healthy living. This ought to be mandatory. Stop serving crap at lunch.
Hmmmm
I’ve been supplementing past few years especially during winter when indoors more, also sunbath once it becomes warm. I like drinking milk since a kid, did still do.
It was a twindemic. We as population were old, fat and we have been told to fear the sun for so long that our vitamin d levels are ridiculously low.
Why the CDC isn’t screaming this is beyond me. Actually its not beyond me, big pharm and big food wants us fat, out of shape and diabetic because they can sell us more drugs to fix the symptoms.
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The lack of Vitamin D is even more striking in groups with darker skin.
Dark skin allows one to live outside in tropical and semi-tropical climes. The dark skin blocks the Sun, giving protection so as to survive the hot Sun.
Move these people to The US and/or Europe and have them stay inside. Not enough sunlight and, voila!, depleted Vitamin D.
#1 reason dark-skinned people have higher rates of Covid. Throw in some obesity and you have a large health problem.
Ever hear Fauci, or anyone, explain this simple fact and thus encourage people to get outside to get fresh air and Sunshine?
Nope…just pumping out $Billions for vaccines. Pharma earns record profits.
Our National and State Health Officials are a disgrace. In it for the $money, not on the side of simple, proven health measures.
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I agree. There were people saying this early on but they were shouted down and called science deniers.
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Lowbehold I did the same thing. To the best of my knowledge I never caught Covid and my job necessitated that I meet with people daily. I never locked down even during the first year. I traveled and stayed in hotels. But never caught it.
I honestly think Vitamin D supplementation had a big impact.
I’ve read a lot on Vitamin D and avoiding extremly low levels seems helpful. Here are 10 Vitamin D tips from William Davis MD, the author of the best-selling “Wheat Belly” books:
(lightly edited & bold italics added by me)
Ten rules to get your vitamin D just right | The Undoctored Blog: blog.undoctored.com
Restoration of vitamin D is one of the most powerful health strategies to have come along in years. Combine this with other Undoctored strategies and you have an exceptionally effective way to reverse the factors that allow numerous modern health conditions such as diabetes (type 1 and 2), hypertension, bone thinning, arthritis, depression, and autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D is such a crucial factor in health that you would therefore think that most doctors would be experts in vitamin D.
Sadly, that is not the case. The majority of mainstream medical doctors are woefully ignorant, do not read the science nor try to understand the essentials, saying such silly things as “Your vitamin D blood level of 30 is just fine” or “Take this prescription for vitamin D” or even “You don’t need any vitamin D because you get enough from diet.” Such gross instances of ignorance are typically delivered with authority, the peculiar way of my colleagues. Getting vitamin D right is really very simple. Just be sure you’ve got it right for full benefit. But, because most conventional doctors bungle it, YOU need to be sure it’s done right.
- Take oil-based gelcaps for assured absorption. Tablets are very poorly or erratically absorbed. For instance, I observed many people start with, say, a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level of 15 ng/ml. They take 8000 units of vitamin D in tablet form and 2 or 3 months later, their blood level is 15–I’ve seen this happen countless times. Take 8000 units of vitamin D as oil-based gelcap and the level will more likely be something like 65 ng/ml, right where you want it. Liquid drops are okay and are better absorbed but tend to yield wildly erratic blood levels.
- Take D3 (cholecalciferol) only, the human form. The prescription form, D2 (ergocalciferol), is different and yields different effects. D2 is also usually the form added to foods such as dairy products. There is NO reason to take this non-human form over D3. D3 is widely available, effective, and inexpensive.
- Take higher doses if you are overweight–This is because fat cells sequester vitamin D and make it unavailable. Some overweight people need megadoses like 20,000 units per day, for instance. Conversely, as someone loses weight, there may be reduced need for vitamin D intake as the stored nutrient is released. And always rely on blood levels in these situations, never guess.
- Don’t assume that sun exposure will raise your blood level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, especially if you are over 40 years old. We gradually lose much of our capacity to activate vitamin D in the skin with sun exposure. When in doubt, have a blood level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D checked. Only an occasional person has to seasonally adjust their dose to accommodate summer sun exposure. And don’t assume that, if you live in Miami or Maui, you have an ideal level of vitamin D—once again, check a blood level.
- Get your 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level to 60-70 ng/ml, not the 20-30 ng/ml typically quoted by laboratories. This approximates the levels achieved by young people with plentiful sun exposure, thereby telling us that this is a physiologically appropriate level. It is also the level at which risk for diseases like cancer and osteoporosis (via high PTH levels) are maximally suppressed.
- Do not take vitamin D with calcium–Because…calcium supplementation has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk and is next to ineffective for prevention of osteoporotic fracture, we do not take calcium and certainly never take combination tablets of vitamin D with calcium.
- Take a daily dose, not a weekly or monthly dose. Daily doses have been shown to exert greater beneficial effects.
- Wait at least 2 months after starting vitamin D or changing the dose before you check a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level, as it takes that long for the blood level to plateau (read “steady state”). Checking a level too soon will yield misleading results.
- After 2-3 years of consistent supplementation, check a blood level–This is because many people develop a marked reduction in need at this point. I don’t know why, but speculate that all vitamin D receptors have become saturated, thereby yielding higher 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels allowing a reduction in dose.
- Take vitamin D in the morning–Some people develop insomnia if vitamin D is taken at bedtime, an effect I assume means that the body somehow equates vitamin D ingestion with sunlight. It’s really quite simple. Once you get it right, it readily becomes habit and something you don’t have to think about much (unlike, say, cultivation of bowel flora that requires frequent consideration).
William Davis, MD, FACC is cardiologist and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Wheat Belly series of books. He is also author of the new Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor.
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We protected ourselves against the sun and we didn’t realize we needed it.
People with darker skin living in the northern latitudes need to be taking vitamin d for sure.
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For sure. More Sunshine and Vitamin D Supplements.
Health Authorities have never said this.
They have,literally, killed dark-skinned people.
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Hundreds of E D ads everyday but not a single one saying "have you talked to your doctor about Vitamin D’
No sales ads because there’s no big money to be made in Vitamin D — I can buy a year’s supply for ~$15.
That said, there should be PSAs promoting Vitamin D, IMO.
[EDIT — 2022-08-20 — a year’s supply for $10]
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With all the information available on the net at your fingertips (some not so good and some very good, need to separate the wheat from the chaff) I feel it’s up to each individual to stay informed. Information can be a curse or a blessing , depending.
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Vitamin D was very important
More viruses are coming. Lets get some sun.
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I have been on D3 for a number of years because of low levels.
IMO, a Vitamin D assay should be included free as part of your annual physical — I think it would save the insurance cos. money in the long run.
I got checked this June & my level was a decent 59 ng/ml.
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I maintain good D levels. Covid kicked me ass