Vitamin D is needed for much more than bone health. For average weight adults, 0.125 milligrams supplemental vitamin D3 cholecalciferol (125 micrograms = 5000 IU) is needed, on average, per day, to attain the 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L = 1 part in 20,000,000 by mass) level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the bloodstream which the immune system needs to function properly. Please see the research cited and discussed at: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/.
The very small daily vitamin D3 supplemental intake quantities recommended by governments and many doctors for adults - such as 0.025 milligrams (25 micrograms = 1000 IU) - are only sufficient to attain the 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L = 1 part in 50,000,000 by mass) level of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D which the kidneys need to properly regulate calcium-phosphate-bone metabolism. Without proper vitamin D3 supplementation or recent months of extensive ultraviolet B skin exposure, most people have half or less of this: 10 to 25 ng/mL. Last year I met a nurse here in Victoria, Australia (37 degrees from the equator, like Spain, San Francisco and Kentucky) - a mid-to-late 20s woman of African descent - who told me her 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 7 ng/mL. She was not supplementing vitamin D3.
25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) calcifediol or "calcidiol" is made, primarily in the liver, over several days, from vitamin D3. This is what is measured in "vitamin D" blood tests, but it is not a vitamin and it has a totally different function in the body from vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 and its 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 version are less effective, so it is best to supplement with vitamin D3.
There is very little vitamin D (3 or 2) in foods, including those fortified with vitamin D (often D2, which is more stable). There's no such thing as a "vitamin D rich food" since no practical amount of food can provide enough vitamin D3 to attain the 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D the immune system needs to function properly.
"5000 International Units" sounds like a lot, but it is a gram every 22 years - and the ex-factory price of pharma-grade vitamin D3 is about USD$2.50.
Ultraviolet B light, around 293 nanometre wavelength (UV-B, at the extreme high-energy, high frequency, end of the Sun's spectrum at the surface of the Earth) can produce plenty of vitamin D3 in ideally white skin. However, this always damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer. Sufficient UV-B to attain 50 ng/mL or more circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D is only available naturally, far from the equator, in the mid-morning to mid-afternoon of cloud-free summer days, without glass, clothing or sunscreen intervening.
We need at least 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D to be healthy, no matter what other nutrients, lifestyle choices and medications we have. The only safe, practical, way to attain this all year round is proper vitamin D3 supplementation, in quantities determined by body weight, with higher ratios of body weight for those suffering from obesity. This is because obesity reduces the rate of hydroxylation in the liver and because the resultant 25-hydroxyvitamin D (and probably vitamin D3 itself) is sequestered in the excess adipose tissue: https://5nn.info/temp/250hd- obesity/.
70 to 90 IU / kg body weight for those not suffering from obesity (BMI < 30).
100 to 130 IU / kg body weight for obesity I & II (BMI 30 to 39).
140 to 180 IU / kg body weight for obesity III (BMI > 39).
These recommendations are included in a recent article with another professor of medicine Scott T. Weiss and professor of pediatrics Bruce W. Hollis: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/22/3969 All three have been researching vitamin D for decades.
Despite misinformed statements that "vitamin D is a hormone", neither vitamin D3 nor 25-hydroxyvitamin D function as hormones. They are not signaling molecules. The third compound, calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) has one well known hormonal function: the kidneys maintain a very low (~0.1 ng/mL) level of calcitriol in the bloodstream where it acts as a long-distance blood-borne signaling molecule (hormone) affecting multiple types of cell which are involved in calcium-phosphate-bone metabolism. This has nothing to do with how immune cells need a good supply of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in order to run their intracrine (and paracrine, to nearby cells) signaling systems, which have no relation to hormonal (endocrine) signaling. (Explanation: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#02-compounds.)
In the Enchantress Years, proper vitamin D3 supplementation is needed for all the usual reasons - reducing the risk of cancer and both infectious and chronic, especially inflammatory, diseases - but also to reduce the risk of neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, dementia with Lewy bodies etc.): https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.3.
Vitamin K2 has many benefits for the immune system and is known to maintain calcium in the bone, while reducing the risk of excessive calcium levels in the blood. So a daily capsule with 0.125 mg vitamin D3 and (I am not sure of the best quantities) 100 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 is a good choice for many adults.
Most calcium supplementation studies have been done on populations whose 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were well below 50 ng/mL. With 50 ng/mL or more, and especially with vitamin K2 supplementation, I am not sure how important it is to supplement calcium, assuming the diet provides significant quantities. Calcium from food or supplements, taken with meals, binds to oxalates in food so they are excreted. This reduces oxalate ingestion and so the risk of kidney stones.
Excessive levels of calcium in the bloodstream can occur with very much higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, above 150 ng/mL (375 nmols/L), but this can only result from very much higher vitamin D3 intakes, such as ten or more times what Prof. Wimalawansa recommends.
Thank you for this article! This is great information especially for those who don’t want to try HRT-there’s a great alternative! Also, validation of the fact that cholesterol is not your enemy. That old campaign, the incredible edible egg comes to mind. I worked in QA in the egg industry for a long time and I’m a big fan of the healthy cholesterol and other components of eggs. I appreciate the supplement recommendations and the downloadable books. 💜
Regarding HRT, my mother died of ovarian cancer. She had an estrogen patch until age 79, which her cancer surgeon thought was going too far. Beware. Maybe use soy foods instead.
Not a fan of calcium supplementation. Dr Levy has done extensive research and is adamant it is no good. He doesn't even believe in consuming it through food. Would love to know more about the hormone testing. I do the zrt saliva test but haven't heard of the other two. My doctor told me that blood work for hormones is inadequate because it doesn't test how much is in your tissues, just your bloodstream, which is largely insignificant.
Super helpful, and not the usual “kitchen sink“. Can you share anything about the use of vaginal creams—estriol ( Europe) or estradiol (in the US)? These do help with sleep, oddly. Are there any substitutes for this? Thanks!
Vitamin D is needed for much more than bone health. For average weight adults, 0.125 milligrams supplemental vitamin D3 cholecalciferol (125 micrograms = 5000 IU) is needed, on average, per day, to attain the 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L = 1 part in 20,000,000 by mass) level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the bloodstream which the immune system needs to function properly. Please see the research cited and discussed at: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/.
The very small daily vitamin D3 supplemental intake quantities recommended by governments and many doctors for adults - such as 0.025 milligrams (25 micrograms = 1000 IU) - are only sufficient to attain the 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L = 1 part in 50,000,000 by mass) level of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D which the kidneys need to properly regulate calcium-phosphate-bone metabolism. Without proper vitamin D3 supplementation or recent months of extensive ultraviolet B skin exposure, most people have half or less of this: 10 to 25 ng/mL. Last year I met a nurse here in Victoria, Australia (37 degrees from the equator, like Spain, San Francisco and Kentucky) - a mid-to-late 20s woman of African descent - who told me her 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 7 ng/mL. She was not supplementing vitamin D3.
25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) calcifediol or "calcidiol" is made, primarily in the liver, over several days, from vitamin D3. This is what is measured in "vitamin D" blood tests, but it is not a vitamin and it has a totally different function in the body from vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 and its 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 version are less effective, so it is best to supplement with vitamin D3.
There is very little vitamin D (3 or 2) in foods, including those fortified with vitamin D (often D2, which is more stable). There's no such thing as a "vitamin D rich food" since no practical amount of food can provide enough vitamin D3 to attain the 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D the immune system needs to function properly.
"5000 International Units" sounds like a lot, but it is a gram every 22 years - and the ex-factory price of pharma-grade vitamin D3 is about USD$2.50.
Ultraviolet B light, around 293 nanometre wavelength (UV-B, at the extreme high-energy, high frequency, end of the Sun's spectrum at the surface of the Earth) can produce plenty of vitamin D3 in ideally white skin. However, this always damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer. Sufficient UV-B to attain 50 ng/mL or more circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D is only available naturally, far from the equator, in the mid-morning to mid-afternoon of cloud-free summer days, without glass, clothing or sunscreen intervening.
We need at least 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D to be healthy, no matter what other nutrients, lifestyle choices and medications we have. The only safe, practical, way to attain this all year round is proper vitamin D3 supplementation, in quantities determined by body weight, with higher ratios of body weight for those suffering from obesity. This is because obesity reduces the rate of hydroxylation in the liver and because the resultant 25-hydroxyvitamin D (and probably vitamin D3 itself) is sequestered in the excess adipose tissue: https://5nn.info/temp/250hd- obesity/.
In some FLCCC Protocols and in a recent webinar https://odysee.com/@FrontlineCovid19CriticalCareAlliance:c/Weeekly_Webinar_Aug16_2023:d?t=3386 New Jersey based Professor of Medicine Sunil Wimalawansa recommended these daily intake quantities of vitamin D3 to attain at least 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D, without the need for blood tests or medical monitoring:
70 to 90 IU / kg body weight for those not suffering from obesity (BMI < 30).
100 to 130 IU / kg body weight for obesity I & II (BMI 30 to 39).
140 to 180 IU / kg body weight for obesity III (BMI > 39).
These recommendations are included in a recent article with another professor of medicine Scott T. Weiss and professor of pediatrics Bruce W. Hollis: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/22/3969 All three have been researching vitamin D for decades.
Despite misinformed statements that "vitamin D is a hormone", neither vitamin D3 nor 25-hydroxyvitamin D function as hormones. They are not signaling molecules. The third compound, calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) has one well known hormonal function: the kidneys maintain a very low (~0.1 ng/mL) level of calcitriol in the bloodstream where it acts as a long-distance blood-borne signaling molecule (hormone) affecting multiple types of cell which are involved in calcium-phosphate-bone metabolism. This has nothing to do with how immune cells need a good supply of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in order to run their intracrine (and paracrine, to nearby cells) signaling systems, which have no relation to hormonal (endocrine) signaling. (Explanation: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#02-compounds.)
Women of childbearing age are most in need of proper vitamin D3 supplementation since low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increase the risk of preeclampsia, pre-term birth, sepsis and the later development of autism, ADHD, intellectual disability and schizophrenia: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.2 and https://nutritionmatters.substack.com/p/proper-vitamin-d3-supplementation.
In the Enchantress Years, proper vitamin D3 supplementation is needed for all the usual reasons - reducing the risk of cancer and both infectious and chronic, especially inflammatory, diseases - but also to reduce the risk of neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, dementia with Lewy bodies etc.): https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.3.
Vitamin K2 has many benefits for the immune system and is known to maintain calcium in the bone, while reducing the risk of excessive calcium levels in the blood. So a daily capsule with 0.125 mg vitamin D3 and (I am not sure of the best quantities) 100 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 is a good choice for many adults.
Most calcium supplementation studies have been done on populations whose 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were well below 50 ng/mL. With 50 ng/mL or more, and especially with vitamin K2 supplementation, I am not sure how important it is to supplement calcium, assuming the diet provides significant quantities. Calcium from food or supplements, taken with meals, binds to oxalates in food so they are excreted. This reduces oxalate ingestion and so the risk of kidney stones.
Excessive levels of calcium in the bloodstream can occur with very much higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, above 150 ng/mL (375 nmols/L), but this can only result from very much higher vitamin D3 intakes, such as ten or more times what Prof. Wimalawansa recommends.
Thank you for this article! This is great information especially for those who don’t want to try HRT-there’s a great alternative! Also, validation of the fact that cholesterol is not your enemy. That old campaign, the incredible edible egg comes to mind. I worked in QA in the egg industry for a long time and I’m a big fan of the healthy cholesterol and other components of eggs. I appreciate the supplement recommendations and the downloadable books. 💜
Regarding HRT, my mother died of ovarian cancer. She had an estrogen patch until age 79, which her cancer surgeon thought was going too far. Beware. Maybe use soy foods instead.
Not a fan of calcium supplementation. Dr Levy has done extensive research and is adamant it is no good. He doesn't even believe in consuming it through food. Would love to know more about the hormone testing. I do the zrt saliva test but haven't heard of the other two. My doctor told me that blood work for hormones is inadequate because it doesn't test how much is in your tissues, just your bloodstream, which is largely insignificant.
Super helpful, and not the usual “kitchen sink“. Can you share anything about the use of vaginal creams—estriol ( Europe) or estradiol (in the US)? These do help with sleep, oddly. Are there any substitutes for this? Thanks!