Many peer-reviewed research articles conclusively demonstrate that a low level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (i.e. far below 50 ng/mL) in the bloodstream significantly increases the risk of severe disease, long-term damage, and death from COVID-19. That this information remains relatively unknown three years after the onset of the ‘pandemic’ can be attributed to a pervasive pattern of corruption and/or glaring incompetence among many doctors, immunologists, public health officials, and mainstream media outlets.
“Vitamin D” blood tests measure the level (concentration) of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the bloodstream, because both the kidneys and the immune system rely on this as a supply for their signaling functions, which involve hydroxylating it to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. 25-hydroxyvitamin D is made primarily in the liver, from vitamin D3 which is either ingested or is produced by the action of short-wavelength, high energy, ultraviolet B radiation on the skin.
In most populations, average 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are half or less than the 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L) required for optimal immune system function. There is very little vitamin D3 in food. UV-B radiation is difficult to obtain except on cloudless days with high elevation sunlight – and it always damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer.
Good health can only be obtained with at least 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This is the only way of ensuring that SARS-CoV-2 and influenza do not spread in pandemic fashion and do not seriously harm and kill many of those who are infected. Sepsis, which kills around 11 million people a year worldwide, would be rare if everyone had at least 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
Attaining 50 ng/mL 25-hydroxyvitamin D
Food can provide only a small fraction of the vitamin D3 we need to maintain good health. UV-B skin exposure is neither a safe nor easily accessible method for generating most or all of the vitamin D3 our bodies require. Proper vitamin D3 supplementation is the only way for most people to achieve the 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels their immune systems need to function properly. The daily quantities are minimal; for convenience and cost reduction, larger doses can be taken every 7 to 10 days. Current government-approved vitamin D3 supplemental guidelines are insufficient. They aim to achieve a circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of just 20 ng/mL, which is generally adequate only for kidney function and bone health. These guidelines typically specify supplemental amounts based on age group, often with a maximum daily intake of 0.1 to 0.25 mg (4,000 to 10,000 IU).
To achieve healthy 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels for all individuals, we cannot rely solely on these recommendations, blood tests, or medical monitoring. Fortunately, there is a relatively wide range of healthy vitamin D3 intakes for each person, owing to the self-limiting actions of enzymes that degrade 25-hydroxyvitamin D at a rate proportional to its level in the body. As a result, doubling the vitamin D3 intake is likely to increase 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels by only 40 to 50%.
In order to achieve healthy 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of at least 50 ng/mL, and up to 90 or 100 ng/mL without medical monitoring, it is both necessary and sufficient to specify the average daily vitamin D3 supplemental intake as a ratio of body weight, or within a range of two ratios, with higher ratios for those suffering from obesity. Ideally, leading vitamin D researchers would already have written a consensus journal article to this effect. Recommendations consistent with this approach can be found in a 2022 Nutrients article by Emeritus Professor of Medicine Sunil Wimalawansa (University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey): “Rapidly Increasing Serum 25(OH)D Boosts the Immune System, against Infections – Sepsis and COVID-19.” These recommendations include the following ranges of ratios:
- Normal and overweight: 60 to 90 IU per kilogram body weight, per day. Thus, 0.125 mg (5,000 IU) daily, or a 50,000 IU capsule every 10 days, is suitable for individuals weighing 56 to 83 kg (122 to 183 lbs).
- Obesity I & II (BMI 30 to 39): 90 to 130 IU per kg body weight per day.
- Obesity III (BMI 40 or more) – a condition requiring medical attention: 140 to 180 IU per kg body weight per day.
Ratios of bodyweight for underweight, normal and overweight people, with higher ratios for those suffering from obesity, can be derived from Afshar et al. 2020 who found that 70 to 100 IU vitamin D3 a day per kg bodyweight, for over 500 neuro-opthamology patients since 2010, resulted in long-term 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels between 40 and 90 ng/mL. In general, those at the lower end of this range would have been suffering from obesity.
Ekwaru et al. 2014 analyzed long-term 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels according to daily supplemental intake quantities for four self-described body morphologies: underweight, normal, overweight and obesity. From this it is possible to conclude that in order to attain 50 ng/mL 25-hydroxyvitamin D, those suffering from obesity needed approximately 43% more vitamin D per day, as a ratio of bodyweight, than those not so suffering.
Prof. Wimalawansa adapted this derivation to the ranges of ratios just mentioned, which we summarize in a simplified manner in the following table:
He also recommended 70 IU vitamin D3 / kg BW / day for age 18 years and younger (with no correction for obesity) and lower ratios for underweight adults.
Research indicates that two mechanisms cause people suffering from obesity to attain lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels than those without obesity, for any given ratio of vitamin D3 supplemental intake and body weight: reduced hydroxylation of vitamin D3 in the liver and increased absorption of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in excess adipose tissue. These mechanisms are specific to obesity. We know of no mechanistic or observational evidence for lower ratios for underweight people.
By following body weight ratio based recommendations such as those made by Prof. Wimalawansa, people of all ages, weights and body morphologies will attain at least 50 ng/mL of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D over several months, with levels rarely exceeding 100 ng/mL, without the need for blood tests or medical supervision.
This article is part of a comprehensive article that I published on Brownstone.org. You can access it for free here.