The Wall Street Journal has an interesting study on Vitamin D and Coronavirus Disparities.
Researchers last week released the first data supporting this link. They found that the nations with the highest mortality rates—Italy, Spain and France—also had the lowest average vitamin D levels among countries affected by the pandemic.
Vitamin D is produced by a reaction in the skin to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight. Many Americans are low in vitamin D, but those with darker skin are at a particular disadvantage because melanin inhibits the vitamin’s production.
In 2018 a longitudinal study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital looked at whether vitamin D supplementation had any health benefits, specifically in regard to heart disease and cancer. The overall conclusion was that it didn’t, for most people. Yet buried in the results was one that should have made headlines: Vitamin D supplementation in African-Americans reduced cancer risk 23%. How? Cancer cells develop regularly in most animals, including humans, as the result of toxic injuries or glitches in DNA replication, but a healthy immune system destroys them. There is evidence that low vitamin D levels make the immune system go blind.
Dozens of studies confirm that deficiency is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which disproportionately afflicts African-Americans.
During the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic, the Camp Brooks Open Air Hospital in Massachusetts, had the unique distinction of being an outdoor recovery unit. The mortality rate for patients there fell from 40% to 13% when they were moved outside.
Perhaps its not warmer temperatures that matter, but rather exposure to sunlight.
Mish a Supplements Guinea Pig
I have been taking vitamin D supplements daily for years. I wrote about it in 2013: Cancer Free: I Beat Prostate Cancer; Mish the Guinea Pig
This is not medical advice, but I believe a cocktail of things cured prostate cancer. I took a mix of things that worked in a University of Wisconsin study.
Vitamin D was not one of them, but I added that after a test by my doctor showed I had a deficiency. My doctor wanted me to have injections, I asked, “why not just pills?” He replied “studies show that is not effective.” I said “Let’s try it and see.”
The results came in. I had too much vitamin D so I had to lower my dosage.
Vitamin D is toxic in excess levels so don’t just go out and start taking massive doses of this stuff.
By the way, and again this is not medical advice, but several readers reported similar levels of success with Prostate cancer following the regimen above.
I am now taking 5000 IU of vitamin D3 once daily.
Initially I was taking 3X that on Dr’s recommendation because I was deficient. He wanted me to take shots because supposedly “D3 gets destroyed in the stomach”.
It doesn’t. I had too much. D3 is the form to take IMO. https://t.co/kku5LyajLs
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) April 17, 2020
Further Comment on D3 and B12
I was medically tested as deficient in both D3 and B12.
A second blood test showed the pills did the trick for me although my doctor said they wouldn’t.
But why not try?
Periodic shots would have been more than a small nuisance.
My doctor was surprised by the result.
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) April 17, 2020
A Word About Medical Profits
If there is no profit in it, there will be no recommendations or even studies except at universities.
How many needless, and harmful, $20,000 prostate surgeries did we have?
My oncologist said supplements would not help but would not hurt. So I tried it.
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) April 17, 2020
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
M.S., since this article and the very first Racial Discrimination in CoV-19 Cases Reports, U.K. news reported Health England, Scotland and Ireland are investigating Vitamin D Deficiency in dark skin-toned CoV-19 Cases. That was followed by New York Times. Dr S. Seneff, AI Computer MIT Research Scientist, has drawn attention to the Lung mucosal-lining inflammation in Major Air and Shipping Port industrial parks. The largest US Refining Distributor of BioJet, BioHeating and BioDiesel is located in Chelsey, a suburb of Boston, location of a CoVid-19 Hotspot. The EU and the Greater NYC had passed Tax-incentives for BioFuels has increased the Public exposure to the herbicide chemical agents used in BioFuel Industrial Farming. The Green carbon-Friendly BioFuel are sweet smelling but proving dirty unsustainable.
Good information on Vitamin D here: http://www.grassrootshealth.net
The experts that contribute articles to this web site recommend a Vitamin D level of 40-60 ng/ml. If you have not been tested for your Vitamin D level, you should do so. Most likely, the low intake level recommended by various medical groups (600 IU daily) will not get you to the optimal range noted earlier. Vitamin D is very inexpensive to manufacture and there is no patent on it. So you won’t see it on those “ask your doctor” commercials.
More on ‘open air’ hospitals : link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A nutritionist friend insists Vitamin D is THE way to beat cancer and sunlight is the best way to get it, followed by foods and supplements. A recent guest on RT’s SophieCo says vitamin supplements are useless and even dangerous, and says we tan to block intake of excessive Vitamin D. I thought tanning helps fight UV, but I’m not an MD.
Still: everyone’s saying open air hospitals were used in 1918 to help treat Spanish Flu victims, so clearly fresh air and sunlight aids the immune system.
There’s an oufit called Grassroots Health, which focuses very much on Vit D. I joined, costs a few $, they do research, they also provide Vit D testing. Their latest e-mail deals with racial health disparity. Here’s a link to a chart:
Mish – this is a really interesting piece. A puzzle for us Europeans has been the big differences in the experiences of Sweden & Germany (fewer deaths) vs UK, Italy, France, Spain (more deaths). Furthermore, a study has just been launched here in the UK to try to work out why such a high proportion of our BAME citizens appear to have died from COVID (i.e much higher % than their demographic). I’m wondering whether your piece may help to explain both phenomenon? Do you know any stats for Vit D levels in Sweden or Germany? I managed to find that Sweden has long been worried about low D levels in its citizens during winter, so it fortifies various dairy products to help address this. Also I’m guessing that the UK (and France) are much more ethnically diverse than both Germany and Sweden, which I suspect are both still very white? Hum…
Mish – I want to thank you again for the information you shared about your approach to prostate cancer in 2013. I had a skyrocketing PSA and adopted your regimen, and along the way adopted the Dr. Dean Ornish dietary approach, as well. So far, so good.
For those readers who are interested in protecting against the Covid virus with natural substances, Bill Sardi, who blogs over on Lew Rockwell, has many excellent articles on natural compounds which will dramatically improve immunity and overall health.
I would like to extend my condolences to any of your readers who are laboring under a For-Profit Healthcare System, governed by “regulatory-captured” bodies like the AMA, CDC and the FDA.
Healthy Regards
OK folks, remember there are two groups of vitamins – water soluble and fat soluble. The fat soluble build up in the fat cells in your body and can cause toxic reactions, the water soluble wash out so overdosing is less likely. Fat soluble vitamins are: A, D, E, and K.
By all means get your vitamin D levels checked, but also get your doctor to recommend a dosage if required.
“During the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic, the Camp Brooks Open Air Hospital in Massachusetts, had the unique distinction of being an outdoor recovery unit. The mortality rate for patients there fell from 40% to 13% when they were moved outside. “
Both fresh air and vitamin D3 are helpful. Just shows how smart it is to close our beaches and parks here in Florida.
Good article, may I suggest that maybe, during the Spanish flu pandemic, it was the fresh air and not the sunshine that made the mortality rate decline? I say this because when I was sick, fresh air helped so much when I felt that I couldn’t breathe, plus it helped with the sweating and keeping my temperature down, this was back in October 2019 before COVID-19. There have been similar stories of people having got sick like they never have been before. Two members of my community died in February 2020 of double pneumonia, a week apart from each other but they were from different regions as well. I often wonder if the virus was here already. Only God knows I suppose. Miiyah.
BTW, there hasn’t been mention here that Vitamin D is also/mainly a hormone:
Vitamin D tests are on sale now. You get a requisition and take it to LabCorb.
Double plus good that. Been reading Bill Sardi for years.
“They found that the nations with the highest mortality rates—Italy, Spain and France—also had the lowest average vitamin D levels among countries affected by the pandemic.” – strange, since these countries get a lot of sunshine…
Even stranger that somebody would do coordinated vitamin D testing. Sounds like total bull.
Not so strange considering we are just coming out of winter when there is less sun,
Be careful with taking too much B12. Talk to a doctor about proper dose. A family member took too much and fainted. Luckily she wasn’t injured.
Mish – Before you started taking vitamin D, were you getting muscle spasms that just wouldn’t quit? Cramps and spasms are thee classic sign of vitamin D deficiency. I only take 5000 units every other day to put me in the middle of the normal range. 2000 units per day only kept me on the lowest point of normal @ 25 ng/ml. Never needed vitamin D supplements until I started taking statins to control cholesterol.
Bill Sardi’s an awesome medical writer. Sunshine Vitamin D, or Vitamin D3 pills (5000IU per day for me too) as Mish found out works, and of course, zinc supplements.
From Lew Rockwell and Bill Sardi:
Modern Medicine Knew Of Zinc Cure For Coronavirus Infections A Decade Ago But Failed To Put Into Practice
link to lewrockwell.com,
I present to you where we are with a vaccine: link to blogs.sciencemag.org
Lot of megavitamin research on D. I’ve taken 10,000 units a day for several years. Nothing wrong with me!
Me either.
So what you’re saying is if you do have this, the best way to fight it is to be outside in the sun and not locked in your house?
You could do what my 80 year old dad does everyday – sits in the Texas sun for an hour every afternoon with his face away from the sun and with sunscreen on.
Oh no! Now Trump is going to start recommending vitamin D. Well at least we heard it here first! Wow it may pay off to have a healthy body and mind. Who would have thought the simple things that could make a difference. Any results on effect of being obese or even just over weight and taking on Covid-19? Might be even more I’m important than Vit. D.
So are chinese all obese? Find 1 that was and let me know. I’m getting really tired of hearing about this obese crap. That’s bs and nothing more than trying to get people to lose weight using covid19 as an excuse. Knock it off.
Trump does not recommend Vitamin D. It’s the other way around. Vitamin D recommends Trump as protection against all common sense!!!
If vitamin D supplements catch on, they will be as hard to find as toilet paper. Better stock up now. LOL
In 1918 Spanish flu doctors found out if they put patients outside in the Sun for an hour with circulating fresh air 73% recovered within a week!
Months ago, i saw a story on the news, which said that vitamin D supplements had no value. I kept using it anyway.
I tend to stay out of the sun as much as possible, so it is good to know a D3 supplement was helpful to Mish.
I have seen posts on comment boards, talking about vitamin D in relation to CV-19, but have not been concerned to take it because of that. More so of zinc in that regard.
majority of Americans are deficient…according to Scientific American 3/4
vitamins A, C, D & iodine…IV if need it. Magnesium is another big one.
can nebulize iodine and/or hydrogen peroxide
lots of essential oils as well
see Dr. Brownstein’s blog, Dr. Sircus treatment, and numerous others…