It is interesting to me how studies are designed to prove or disprove something. I scanned the health headlines today and found one that caught my attention immediately about vitamin D3 (VD3) and COVID-19. I keep my VD3 levels high – over 100 ng/mL. However, the literature and medical profession appear to be lagging on VD3 and health benefits.
Vitamin D3 Levels
https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/vitamin-d-deficiency#1 Years ago, the minimum level was 20 ng/mL – below that, people were deficient. The minimum level was raised to 30 ng/mL a decade or so ago. The link is to a source I use a lot and was written less than a year ago.
Yet, it states that there is no consensus on what VD3 levels are required for optimal health. The source also stays with the old standard of 20 ng/mL as the minimum. And the standard diatribe about the recommended daily allowance of 600 IUs to 800 IUs with a maximum of 4,000 IUs daily was rehashed.
Health Levels of Vitamin D3
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2013/8/the-overlooked-importance-of-vitamin-d-receptors Life Extension is a source I use more than any other. In this article, they reference VD3 optimal levels beginning at 50 ng/mL. It also states that people deficient in VD3 need a minimum of 5,000-7,000 IUs daily.
I started tracking my VD3 levels with my annual physicals. I asked my doctor to add the VD3 blood test to the regular tests being done. For several years, I got this statement from his office that I would have to make up the difference if my insurance company did not pay for the exam.
I told his office many years in a row that I will pay for whatever is owed. I want the test. About a decade ago, his office stopped asking me about paying the difference. Regardless, I tracked my daily VD3 supplementation to determine what amounts of VD3 are needed for my body to achieve at least 50 ng/mL. It was much more than 7,000 IUs daily.
My wife’s oncologist wanted my wife’s VD3 levels between 80 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL to help fight her cancer. We increased our daily VD3 levels to have her (and mine) above 80 ng/mL. We usually take 20,000 IUs daily in the summer and 10,000 – 15,000 IUs in the winter. With the COVID vacation, we kept our levels at 20,000 IUs daily. My last test result was 108 ng/mL, and my wife’s VD3 was in the high 90s.
Latest Study Correlating VD3 and COVID-19
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/vitamin-d-supplements-may-not-reduce-covid-19-risk-new-study-says The initial set-up for this article states that VD3 supplements have been offered to prevent or treat COVID-19. I have researched and written about several articles addressing the prevention of COVID-19 by using VD3, but not any that I can recall that discusses using VD3 as a treatment.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7246956/ ‘Vitamin D can prevent COVID-19 infection-induced multiple organ damage.’ is the headline of a study completed just over a year ago.
VD3 protects the body from the SARS-Co-V-2 virus by blocking or inhibiting the ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) receptor. Block the initial connection of the virus with the body, and the virus cannot get a toehold to infect a person. Prevention – not treatment!
This study was published a week ago in PLOS Medicine (https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003605) focused on genetic variants linked to high levels of VD3. People with specific genetic codes tend to have higher levels of VD3. Researchers found 14,000 people having survived COVID-19 and did a Mendelian randomization study with 1.2 million people uninfected from the virus.
The study determined that those with specific genetic codes predisposed to having higher VD3 levels did not have any greater protection from becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2. I read the study twice to ensure I did not miss a specific recording of actual VD3 levels.
I could find nothing in the study indicating that actual readings were used. I could find nothing indicating a group of people with these genetic dispositions had a higher risk of prevention – all the people chosen in the study had had the virus.
Conclusion
I found this study to be useless in the big scheme of things. Why test specific people with a genetic variant? What is that going to prove? When you want to state that VD3 can prevent or not prevent coronavirus, why not test levels of VD3 in the body of those people who were not infected against those who did catch the virus?
VD3 inhibits the virus from snagging a home in our bodies, especially when our VD3 levels are high. However, it does not mean that a person can still become infected. There are viral overload situations when an infected person can inundate an uninfected person so heavily that resistance is futile. It might mean the newly infected person may not need hospitalization or the severity of symptoms may be reduced.
At what level is the risk against catching the disease higher or lower with people having high VD3 levels? Will VD3 levels above 80 ng/mL provide better protection from infection? It would be nice to know.
Most of the studies I have researched indicated that the VD3 levels of infected people were generally below 20 ng/mL (deficient in VD3).
Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com
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