I bet you know your cholesterol level (especially if you are an older person). I imagine that you know your blood pressure. And you probably know your weight. These are all things that impact your health. But do you know your vitamin D level? This impacts health also. I want to talk about vitamin D levels especially now as we move into the fall and winter of the 2020 year. In light of what is being discovered about covid-19, a person’s vitamin D level is very important to stave off the cytokine storm that is responsible for the hospitalizations and extreme illness that sometimes occurs. Solid data now shows that vitamin D has reduced hospitalizations and stopped deaths at least in the hospitals where it has been studied.
The first randomized controlled trial of vitamin D in COVID-19 infections has just been published. It is in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Chris Masterjohn Phd, says this about the study- “The results are astounding: vitamin D nearly abolished the odds of requiring treatment in an ICU. Although the number of deaths was too small to say for sure, vitamin D may actually abolish the risk of death from COVID-19.”
From GrassRootsHealth: “Vitamin D is actually a hormone and is used by every cell of the body; it influences the expression of thousands of genes, and is involved in regulating over 80 biological pathways – importantly, vitamin D is a potent regulator of immune function…a potent regulator of adaptive immunity, including both cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Vitamin D is needed by …. white blood cells to help them recognize, bind to, and destroy SARS-CoV-2. (Link here)
Hence, some Physicians and research groups are now recommending that folks increase their blood level of vitamin D as soon as possible in order to prevent worse outcomes if the corona virus returns this winter. It is suggested that your blood level should be raised to between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL. Those with very low levels (less than 20 ng/ml) are at a high risk for worse outcomes.
My level is 83 ng/ml. I know this from blood tests that my doctor orders but also from a simple home finger-stick test that I do. Your doctor can order a blood test for vitamin D, or, you can order the home finger-stick test yourself as there are several labs that offer this (see below). I also take a vitamin D supplement to keep my level up because my diet and sun exposure is not enough. Most people will have to take a vitamin D supplement in order to get up to “60” for best protection. Getting enough sun exposure to raise vitamin D is difficult to do especially as we get into winter. Also vitamin D is a “fat-soluble” vitamin and many folks do not consume enough animal fats to get enough vitamin D this way. So supplementation is the best way to get there. (More on supplements below).
The easiest “home finger-stick test” that I have found is “HomeHealthTesting”. It only requires 4 drops of blood per test, and costs about $60. Go HERE to find out more.
Another “home finger-stick test” is through an organization called Grass Roots Health. They ask you to fill out an extensive survey on your health as well as send you the finger-stick test. What is really cool about this organization is that they collect this data from thousands of people and compile it into data that can help us correlate how health is impacted by vitamin levels. Granted it is correlation not causation but it is very interesting. I have been sending them my vitamin D tests for several years now and I have a plot of my results since 2014. Here is my recent test from GrassRoots health.
The best way to quickly increase your blood level is start taking a supplement now. Don’t wait another month. Cold and flu (and corona virus?) season is right around the corner. You can find vitamin D supplements everywhere (supermarkets, pharmacies). Make sure you get D3 (or sometimes typed as D3) as that is the version that your body uses directly. Below are some high quality brands. Personally I think most people need about 5000 IU’s a day but the only way to know if you are taking enough is to get the blood test. My husband started taking 5000 IU’s a day after he found that his level was less than 20! He is now in the safe zone of about 70-80 ng/mL.
The bottom line is this – take some vitamin D every day as this is an easy way to ensure you get through the winter without a complication from Covid-19. Always talk to your health professional before starting anything new. I welcome your comments.