Covid-19, life, and the hobby, post 2 of x: vitamin D
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE.
Late follow-up. TLDR: I think should all be taking 8,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day, and that's not just hobbyists worried about covid, that's everybody.
There have been many observational studies noting a strong association between low vitamin D levels and bad outcomes in covid19. These show an association, but can't necessarily prove that the first causes the second. It might be the other way around, or there could be some third factor that causes both.
HOWEVER: there's a pre-print study that shows causality: treating patients who were already in the hospital with covid19 pneumonia with large doses of a fast acting form of vitamin D, calcifediol, kept 98% of the treatment group out of the ICU. 50% of the placebo group ended up in the ICU and 2 died. These were people who were already in hospital with covid-19 pneumonia, so they were seriously ill, and these results are pretty amazing.
Here is a discussion of the study, by a fellow with PhD in Nutritional Science, Chris Masterjohn: [URL]https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid-19/finally-confirmed-vitamin-d-nearly-abolishes-icu-risk-in-covid-19[/URL].
Here's the study he is discussing: [URL]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960076020302764?via%3Dihub[/URL].
Some have criticized the study due to relatively small size and possible other factors (in spite of randomization, the placebo group started off with somewhat worse baseline conditions). I've read somewhere a analysis of that study that came to the conclusion that, in the worst case, it ws still likely quite meaningful.
In his discussion, Masterjohn notes that the doses of calcifediol given would be equivalent to vitamin D dosre of "106,400 IU vitamin D on day 1, 53,200 IU on days 3 and 7, and 53,200 IU weekly thereafter. If this were given as daily doses, it would be the equivalent of 30,400 per day for the first week, followed by a maintenance dose of 7,600 IU per day. ".
These sound huge, but much larger doses of vitamin D have been given without issues.
The calcefediol has the advantage of already being the form of vitamin d that actually circulates in the blood, so it acts more quickly to raise the blood levels. For patients already sick with covid pneumonia, this is clearly advantageous.
However, Masterjohn notes this study [URL]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30917531/[/URL], see Figure 1, showing that the effects of 100,000 IU of vitamin D has its effect over the period of a few days to a week.
In trying to determine the best blood levels of vitamin d, Masterjohn refers to Figure 4 of this analysis of numerous studies relating to all-cause mortality, [URL]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103214/#!po=23.9130[/URL], deciding that around 30 ng / ml is ideal, and that more might be less good.
However I chanced upon this paper: [URL]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5541280/[/URL]. It uses units if nmol / L, where 2. 5 nmol / L = 1 ng / ml. That paper identifies 30 ng / ml to 50 ng / ml as an optimal level and recommends 10,000 IU pr day to reach the higher of those.
Worth noting that the geniuses / s who set levels in this country recommend a mete 400 IU per day. This is enough to prevent rickets, the most obvious disease of vitamin D deficiency, it is not by any means the optimal amount.
Members of my Fan Club beg to differ!!
[QUOTE=Ump1969;5063592]No, you're on the bragging end. No one believes you and it helps no one find pussy[/QUOTE]Some Get it. Some don't! Sucks to be on the sidelines!!
