What's Your Vitamin D Levels?

[Beastmode]

I've noticed Ray Peat (around 50) and Jack Kruse (6o and above) both mention Vitamin D levels being important when it comes to fighting off viruses.

I've only had it tested once about a year ago and it was 37.

It's most likely much higher now as I supplement with vitamin D and try to get as much Florida sun as possible.

I rarely get "flu like" symptoms during the season, but I have noticed this year is noticeably less in duration and intensity. My thyroid is much stronger than a year ago and other important factors of course.

Curious what your's is and if it's correlated with your resistance, or lack of, to flu like symptoms?

 

[NathanK]

I don't think Vit D should be tested without adequate knowledge of PTH and calcium. Otherwise, just try to keep between the standard range.

 

[milkbasedvegan]

I’ve had it as high as 95 in Sep 2018 after a whole summer of vacation in the sun, I was super tan too and drinking ample amounts of mineral water high in calcium. Using melanotan and popping 10,000iu’s on and off. I think it went down to mid 50s in March 2019, in the midst of the Canadian winter plus very little supplementing.

I’ve had it as low as 25 for my first test back in 2015.

The way I interpret it nowadays... I feel like low vitamin D comes from a lack of calcium in the diet, or an obvious lack of sun exposure, of both. If dietary calcium is low, why would we manufacture this hormone? It would seem unneeded - nobody wants low blood calcium levels. Thus, I’m guessing that blood 25OHD could be an interesting tool to tweak dietary calcium, the same way homocysteine is useful for B12, or ferritin for iron and inflammation

 

[Beastmode]

I’ve had it as high as 95 in Sep 2018 after a whole summer of vacation in the sun, I was super tan too and drinking ample amounts of mineral water high in calcium. Using melanotan and popping 10,000iu’s on and off. I think it went down to mid 50s in March 2019, in the midst of the Canadian winter plus very little supplementing.

I’ve had it as low as 25 for my first test back in 2015.

The way I interpret it nowadays... I feel like low vitamin D comes from a lack of calcium in the diet, or an obvious lack of sun exposure, of both. If dietary calcium is low, why would we manufacture this hormone? It would seem unneeded - nobody wants low blood calcium levels. Thus, I’m guessing that blood 25OHD could be an interesting tool to tweak dietary calcium, the same way homocysteine is useful for B12, or ferritin for iron and inflammation

The 2nd part of what I'm asking, knowing there's a lot more involved in all this, did you notice anything different with changes in your vitamin D levels?

 

[Beastmode]

I don't think Vit D should be tested without adequate knowledge of PTH and calcium. Otherwise, just try to keep between the standard range.

Maybe make another thread on that topic as I think it's valid.

However, I'm asking a specific question that you can either answer or not. I'm very aware of the many other factors involved (i.e- pth, calcium intake, liver health, etc.)

If you're able contribute to the question, that would be awesome. Look forward to your thread on the matters you brought up.

 

[Tristan Loscha]

I've noticed Ray Peat (around 50) and Jack Kruse (6o and above) both mention Vitamin D levels being important when it comes to fighting off viruses.

I've only had it tested once about a year ago and it was 37.

It's most likely much higher now as I supplement with vitamin D and try to get as much Florida sun as possible.

I rarely get "flu like" symptoms during the season, but I have noticed this year is noticeably less in duration and intensity. My thyroid is much stronger than a year ago and other important factors of course.

Curious what your's is and if it's correlated with your resistance, or lack of, to flu like symptoms?

Never tested it,but loading dosage+maintenance dose of 4000IU D3
raised resistance against common cold to perfection.Im a immune-Warrior,but maybe SARS will wreck my streak.
Had persistent upper Airway Inflam with throat pain which i took intermittently ABs against.
Stopped and never came back.
Testing 10000IU/d at the moment.

 

[Iceman2016]

So, for the last few years I've been having these random aches and pains, extreme lack of energy, stiffness in the morning when I wake up, and a overwhelming lack of motivation to do anything. I've had full physicals done with everything being tested coming back within range.

I never bothered to test my vitamin d but since re-reading all the pro vitamin d post by certain members on this board, I thought I'd get my levels tested. My wife's been having the same symptoms so we tested hers too.

We got our results back and my level was 10 and my wife was 8. We were both super low. Since then we started supplementing with 50,000iu a day for the first 5 days and then 10,000iu a day from the 6th day onward.

It's only been a few weeks but we're both sleeping MUCH much better than before and a lot of the muscle aches and pains we used to experience have decreased significantly. My wife used to have very bad menstrual cramps during her period to the point of being bedridden but this last period she was actually able to function almost normally! I have also noticed a decrease in headaches and an increase in libido.

I have no feedback on how flu resistant its made me as it's too early to tell.

Stasha Gominak's work had a huge influence on getting me started.

 

[Beastmode]

So, for the last few years I've been having these random aches and pains, extreme lack of energy, stiffness in the morning when I wake up, and a overwhelming lack of motivation to do anything. I've had full physicals done with everything being tested coming back within range.

I never bothered to test my vitamin d but since re-reading all the pro vitamin d post by certain members on this board, I thought I'd get my levels tested. My wife's been having the same symptoms so we tested hers too.

We got our results back and my level was 10 and my wife was 8. We were both super low. Since then we started supplementing with 50,000iu a day for the first 5 days and then 10,000iu a day from the 6th day onward.

It's only been a few weeks but we're both sleeping MUCH much better than before and a lot of the muscle aches and pains we used to experience have decreased significantly. My wife used to have very bad menstrual cramps during her period to the point of being bedridden but this last period she was actually able to function almost normally! I have also noticed a decrease in headaches and an increase in libido.

I have no feedback on how flu resistant its made me as it's too early to tell.

Stasha Gominak's work had a huge influence on getting me started.

Very cool! I wasn't that low, but I can definitely tell a difference in getting more vitamin D in via sunlight and supplementation.

Where do you live if you don't mind me asking?

My wife was in the teens and she was 4 months pregnant at the time. It definitely makes a difference from that low of a level. Good thing it goes up fairly fast when you're that low.

I hope more people on here are keeping track of their vitamin D levels, and of course all the other important ones, as many people are surprised how low they can be.

From a "viral" standpoint, and all the stressors that are going on in the world currently, it's not a bad time to make sure we're keeping those #'s up.

 

[Tristan Loscha]

So, for the last few years I've been having these random aches and pains, extreme lack of energy, stiffness in the morning when I wake up, and a overwhelming lack of motivation to do anything. I've had full physicals done with everything being tested coming back within range.

I never bothered to test my vitamin d but since re-reading all the pro vitamin d post by certain members on this board, I thought I'd get my levels tested. My wife's been having the same symptoms so we tested hers too.

We got our results back and my level was 10 and my wife was 8. We were both super low. Since then we started supplementing with 50,000iu a day for the first 5 days and then 10,000iu a day from the 6th day onward.

It's only been a few weeks but we're both sleeping MUCH much better than before and a lot of the muscle aches and pains we used to experience have decreased significantly. My wife used to have very bad menstrual cramps during her period to the point of being bedridden but this last period she was actually able to function almost normally! I have also noticed a decrease in headaches and an increase in libido.

I have no feedback on how flu resistant its made me as it's too early to tell.

Stasha Gominak's work had a huge influence on getting me started.

how long will you stay on 10000IU?
Is it the maintenance dose?
what kind of bloodlevel is achieveable through that?
im asking,i think 10000IU is fine,but iam interested.

 

[Iceman2016]

Very cool! I wasn't that low, but I can definitely tell a difference in getting more vitamin D in via sunlight and supplementation.

Where do you live if you don't mind me asking?

My wife was in the teens and she was 4 months pregnant at the time. It definitely makes a difference from that low of a level. Good thing it goes up fairly fast when you're that low.

I hope more people on here are keeping track of their vitamin D levels, and of course all the other important ones, as many people are surprised how low they can be.

From a "viral" standpoint, and all the stressors that are going on in the world currently, it's not a bad time to make sure we're keeping those #'s up.

I live in Canada.

I'm definitely hoping my levels rise enough to confer greater resistance to viral infections as Peat and others have talked about.

 

[Iceman2016]

how long will you stay on 10000IU?
Is it the maintenance dose?
what kind of bloodlevel is achieveable through that?
im asking,i think 10000IU is fine,but iam interested.

Well, we are taking 10000iu a day in light of how low our levels are. We've been advised by our family physician that it takes a while for blood levels to come up after being so low for so long. We've been asked to get retested in 3 months to assess whether to switch to a lower maintenance dose (3000iu/day?) or continue on with the same dose till levels are where they are supposed to be. It is also theoretically possible that the dose needs to be increased to get to the ideal range. We are aiming to reach and maintain levels between 60-80ng/ml.

 

[Beastmode]

I live in Canada.

I'm definitely hoping my levels rise enough to confer greater resistance to viral infections as Peat and others have talked about.

Peat mentioned in an old email I sent in regards to why a level may become stagnant even though supplementation has been consistent and he said liver function is optimal. I share that as a reminder that it's important to do all the foundational stuff Peat says consistently to support the levels to increase.

I'm going to get retested once the hysteria settles down and people get back to normal living.

 

[Parrot]

I just had mine tested two weeks ago and it was 95. This is at the end of the Australian summer and I will supplement 3,000mg daily Mon to Friday through winter.
I cannot remember the last time I had a cold or the flu. (56 yo male)

 

[Tristan Loscha]

I just had mine tested two weeks ago and it was 95. This is at the end of the Australian summer and I will supplement 3,000mg daily Mon to Friday through winter.
I cannot remember the last time I had a cold or the flu. (56 yo male)

95 from what range? ng or nmol?

 

[Beastmode]

I just had mine tested two weeks ago and it was 95. This is at the end of the Australian summer and I will supplement 3,000mg daily Mon to Friday through winter.
I cannot remember the last time I had a cold or the flu. (56 yo male)

95 is quite up there. Do know of any drawbacks with having it that high?

I love how it correlates with you not experiencing the cold or flu. I imagine a lot of other things are in line hormonally, diet, lifestyle, etc.

 

[Parrot]

95 from what range? ng or nmol?

That's nmol/L and also the last time I had it tested was mid-September, 2013 (at the start of our Spring) and it was 89.

 

[Parrot]

95 is quite up there. Do know of any drawbacks with having it that high?

I love how it correlates with you not experiencing the cold or flu. I imagine a lot of other things are in line hormonally, diet, lifestyle, etc.

Do you mean have I noticed any drawbacks personally or are there drawbacks that I should be aware of?

I can't say that things are in line. I generally feel pretty shitty in the mornings, especially the first hour, where I can't seem to think straight and can be quite anxious. This has also led to seizures in the past with the last one being in November, 2019. The thing I don't get about these is that they only EVER happen within that first hour of waking up and once past that point I am fine?? (any help in this area would be really appreciated!) Background - I had my first fit when I was 16 and bumped my head on the car roof when I was driving. When I got home I fell asleep in front of the TV and when I woke up I had my first seizure. Put on medication and couldn't drive for two years. Sleep (and msg!) seem to be the issue, alcohol, bright lights, noise etc don't bother me at all. Taken off medication at 25 and fine until 45. Then went for a long bike ride one morning (after a Chinese meal the night before!) came home, fell asleep on the couch and then had a seizure when I woke up so back on medication again.

I always drift off to sleep nicely and either sleep quite well or wake up sometime in the early morning with a racing mind and find it difficult to get back to sleep. (I don't check the clock though)
I also have some prostate symptoms and got a PSA test done last July and it was 5.73, physical exam told the GP that my prostate was nice and smooth and not enlarged however he wanted to see the blood level below 4.0. I started making myself a concoction of blackstrap molasses, acv and cayanne pepper most mornings and that seemed to help as a re-test in October, 2019 showed a reading of 3.90. Re-tested again this month and had dropped further to 2.86 so happy with all that. Still symptomatic so going for an ultrasound but I have temporarily put this off due to CV.

Diet - I am either very good or very bad, there isn't much in between. This also sums up my personality! I have only recently found Peat and this forum and am in awe of the knowledge on here - suffice to say I have been doing a lot of reading. Anyway, up until recently my diet had been pretty healthy breakfasts and lunches but then about 3 to 5 pm I would just go hunting food and generally eating rubbish. I then had a stint trying vegetarian combined with intermittent fasting and surprisingly didn't find it difficult. I was however feeling really horrible in the mornings. I weighed 86 to 87 kilograms at this point and am 6 feet tall. I have now re-introduced protein and feeling better but still not great in the mornings, I do have good energy throughout the day though. I try and have minimal grains and I have also re-introduced dairy. I was allergic to dairy as a child so drank goat's milk. I have re-introduced dairy having about 100 ml of A2 milk per day and around 100 grams of swiss/cheddar cheese in the afternoons. I am reluctant to go higher than this as grains and dairy are considered triggers for seizures in some circles.

Lifestyle - I try to walk for half an hour each day, do yoga once a week (have been doing this for 20 years now) and have recently incorporated a short weights session at home 3 days/week and also trying to get started on a five round HIIT training session 2 days/week. I recently stopped boxing (training only, no fighting)

I have been a big fan of VCO for about five years now and probably consume two tablespoons a day with cooking etc.

Sorry about the long ramble...

 

[Tristan Loscha]

That's nmol/L and also the last time I had it tested was mid-September, 2013 (at the start of our Spring) and it was 89.

The conversion factor is 2.5-
95nmol/L is only 38ng/ml.It isnt high.

Peat recommends 50 to 60ng/ml,
so to keep your level or increase it to 50-60ng/ml,you would want to take 10000IU/d D3 in my opinion.
I believe Peat is suggesting 5000IU,but it is too low for most after my own readings into that matter.
But If you or others are consuming Hi-Ca-dose,then im not as sure.

10000IU to 25000IU are produced by whole body irradiation after 1 MED minimal erythemal Dose,
which happens to be around 15 to 30 minutes,it is the slight pink discoloration that sets in after solar exposure.

 

[Beastmode]

The conversion factor is 2.5-
95nmol/L is only 38ng/ml.It isnt high.

Peat recommends 50 to 60ng/ml,
so to keep your level or increase it to 50-60ng/ml,you would want to take 10000IU/d D3 in my opinion.
I believe Peat is suggesting 5000IU,but it is too low for most after my own readings into that matter.
But If you or others are consuming Hi-Ca-dose,then im not as sure.

10000IU to 25000IU are produced by whole body irradiation after 1 MED minimal erythemal Dose,
which happens to be around 15 to 30 minutes,it is the slight pink discoloration that sets in after solar exposure.

Thank you for the conversion. I just assumed it was in ng/ml.

Peat has mentioned in other interviews that 10000-15000 IU per day is fine as it simulates what we get with exposure to the sun for healthy period of time. Have to find the interview to double check the details.

 

[Iceman2016]

But If you or others are consuming Hi-Ca-dose,then im not as sure.

10000IU to 25000IU are produced by whole body irradiation after 1 MED minimal erythemal Dose,
which happens to be around 15 to 30 minutes,it is the slight pink discoloration that sets in after solar exposure.

I would like to add that I normally consume a lot of dairy but have reduced my consumption to cream in my coffee, cheese with certain meals, and some ice cream before bed.

I was hesitant to take vitamin d for a long time due to fears of calcification of soft tissue but finally decided to proceed due to how low my levels were. I've been mindful not to consume too much calcium while I'm taking my 10000ius daily. I am also taking 180mg of magnesium glycinate 3 times a day and hope to add vitamin K2-MK4 3 times a day as further measures to prevent abnormal calcium deposition.

Unfortunately, there's no way for me to get enough sun exposure during Canadian winters. The other problem is that though I have brown hair and brown eyes, I still burn very easily for some reason in the summer sun. I tried being outside in the sun as often as possible in previous summers but couldn't handle my skin being red and hurting all the time. My wife has lighter hair and eyes than me but is less prone to getting burnt.