
Vitamin D Supplementation Could Prevent and Treat Influenza, Coronavirus, etc - ColanR
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202003.0235/v1
======
aazaa
The first sentence from the abstract:

> Low vitamin D status in winter permits viral epidemics. ...

A scientific paper never starts this way, with the claim to be tested stated
as fact.

I'm immediately suspicious. The authors are affiliated with:

\- Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center

\- GrassrootsHealth

Checking out the respective websites does not inspire confidence. They appear
to be vitamin advocacy groups.

There's only so much time in a day. Chasing rabbit holes from papers with
suspect form isn't something I care to do.

~~~
derision
"vitamin advocacy groups"

What does that even mean? Are you implying that instructing people to
supplement vitamins you're deficient in is somehow malicious? I don't
understand

~~~
mey
They may have a specific interest in the outcome of the study. Like if Pepsi
sponsors a study on the effects of sugar and diabetes.

[https://www.sunarc.org/benefactors.html](https://www.sunarc.org/benefactors.html)
[https://www.grassrootshealth.net/project/sponsors](https://www.grassrootshealth.net/project/sponsors)

Cursory glance, Bio-Tech Pharmacal, a supplements mfg, seems to be a common
sponsor.

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ColanR
Title taken from the last line of the abstract. Below is the abstract in full:

> Low vitamin D status in winter permits viral epidemics. During winter,
> people who do not take vitamin D supplements are likely to have low serum
> 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations. Vitamin D can reduce the risk
> of viral epidemics and pandemics in several ways. First, higher 25(OH)D
> concentrations reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, including cancers,
> cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory tract infections (RTIs),
> diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Patients with chronic diseases have
> significantly higher risk of death from RTIs than otherwise healthy people.
> Second, vitamin D reduces risk of RTIs through three mechanisms: maintaining
> tight junctions, killing enveloped viruses through induction of cathelicidin
> and defensins, and reducing production of proinflammatory cytokines by the
> innate immune system, thereby reducing the risk of a cytokine storm leading
> to pneumonia. Observational and supplementation trials have reported higher
> 25(OH)D concentrations associated with reduced risk of dengue, hepatitis,
> herpesvirus, hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus,
> influenza, respiratory syncytial virus infections, and pneumonia. Results of
> a community field trial reported herein indicated that 25(OH)D
> concentrations above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/l) vs. <20 ng/ml were associated
> with a 27% reduction in influenza-like illnesses. From the available
> evidence, we hypothesize that raising serum 25(OH)D concentrations through
> vitamin D supplementation could reduce the incidence, severity, and risk of
> death from influenza, pneumonia, and the current COVID-19 epidemic.

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pcvarmint
Seattle has a severe Vitamin D deficiency, due to almost year-round
cloudiness.

I wonder if that has anything to do with the Seattle outbreak.

I live only 3 miles from the Life Care Center nursing home. So far no
coronavirus symptoms, but I'm staying home.

I was diagnosed with osteomalacia in my 40s, with a DEXA Z score of -5, and I
have suffered bone fractures three times, two of them spontaneously. I'm
currently taking Fosamax (Alendronate), mega-Vitamin D (10,000+ IU a day), and
Calcium.

~~~
mrfusion
Surprisingly they have one of the highest rates of skin cancer too. I could
never figure that one out.

~~~
jschwartzi
There's still a lot of UV that comes in through the cloud layer. It's one of
the reasons it's recommended to wear sunglasses and sunscreen if you're hiking
on snow on a cloudy day. You can still sunburn the inside of your eyes from UV
exposure, and because it's not visible light your iris doesn't react to it the
same way it would on a bright sunny day.

~~~
WalterSear
But, as a cause of skin cancer, that would preclude vitamin D deficiency,
since it is also dependent on UV exposure.

~~~
enterabdazer
UV is a spectrum. UV-B is responsible for vitamin D production. Very little
UV-B reaches us, even during the summer in the northern hemisphere. UV-A does
damage, and reaches us much more strongly. You can receive damaging UV
exposure while producing little to no vitamin D.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet#/media/File:Ozone_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet#/media/File:Ozone_altitude_UV_graph.svg)

~~~
WalterSear
I see.

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kichik
Please don't start randomly taking big amounts of vitamin D because of
articles like this. It's one of the only supplements that actually gets
absorbed by your body. Consult your doctor and get regular check-ups on your
vitamin D levels if you start taking it.

"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. Symptoms might progress to bone pain and kidney problems,
such as the formation of calcium stones."

[https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-
and-h...](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-
eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108)

~~~
themodelplumber
Isn't the toxicity danger something like > 40K IU / day for some extended time
period on the order of weeks? I'd guess most people are going to take 5-10K IU
daily...5K is also the version most commonly presented in Amazon searches for
D3.

~~~
kichik
I don't have the right experience to give you a definite answer on this. All I
can say is that my doctor had me reduce my dosage, which was 5K IU daily,
because my levels were starting to get too high. So it's easy for me to see
how someone reading this article would decide to take 10-20K ICU a day and
quickly get to levels a doctor would consider out of healthy range.

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TheHypnotist
A lot of this is over my head, but I feel like I see this about Vitamin D for
_insert disease here_ all the time

~~~
tomhoward
Well yeah, it’s pretty well established that Vit D deficiency causes a lot of
problems in the body.

The issue is whether supplementation is really an adequate substitute for
natural sources like sunlight and dietary intake.

~~~
1996
It makes me wonder, what other vitamins are we also deficient in? (or the
recommended doses are seriously "off")

~~~
mrfusion
Wait until you find out about magnesium!

~~~
voisin
Tell us more!

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briandbutler
skeptical. I remember seeing an article from the New York Times (2018) --
"Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It" \-- saved
link here:
[https://app.coursechunks.com/en/articles/7343](https://app.coursechunks.com/en/articles/7343)

