It is not surprising that so many people get sick and have long lasting symptoms from COVID-19. Most people have half or less of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D their immune systems need to function properly, at least in winter. Those with dark or black skin who live far from the equator have even lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.
The ultraviolet B light which converts 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3 cholecalciferol also damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer. If this was the only way of attaining vitamin D3 (only a few foods contain it, and then in extremely low quantities), then we would have to take the risk and use special lamps most of the year. Fortunately, vitamin D3 supplementation is inexpensive. It can be taken every 7 to 10 days.
For most people, the only practical way of attaining the 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L) 25-hydroxyvitamin D we need is vitamin D3 supplementation in quantities well above the lousy 0.02 milligrams (800 IU) a day most governments recommend for adults. Neither vitamin D3 nor 25-hydroxyvitamin D (produced in the liver from vitamin D3) are hormones. (Vieth 2004 https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/j.jsbmb.2004.03.037.)
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).
For 70 kg (154 lb) without obesity, this is about 0.125 milligrams (5000 IU) a day. This takes several months to attain the desired > 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This is 6 or more times what most governments recommend. "5000 IU" sounds like a lot, but it is a gram every 22 years - and pharma grade vitamin D costs about USD$2.50 a gram ex-factory.
You have reported a good summary of vitamin D3 dosing. Be aware that D3 comes from animal sources and vegetarians will take vitamin D2 instead, which comes from plant sources. But is too little an amount from food, as you say, without supplementation. Vitamin serves so many purposes in the body. Its protective role in COVID is no wonder why the government has tried to downplay its benefits with studies designed to fail as they did with ivermectin, etc. Everyone should have their vitamin D level checked as part of routine physicals, but there are only very limited diagnoses for which it is covered by insurance. 50 ng/mL is the optimum blood level but the government considers much lower levels as normal.
Hi Allie, I don't eat meat or poultry, but I eat plenty of fish and other seafood. Each to his or her own, but I think people who avoid animal food will have a very difficult time getting proper nutrition.
Supplemental vitamin D3 is made by a complex process of creating 7-dehydrocholesterol from cholesterol obtained from wool fat. This is subjected to UV-B light with particular wavelengths, which breaks one of the carbon-carbon bonds in one of the rings. The resulting molecule folds, of its own accord, into vitamin D3. sci-hub.se/10.1016/B978-0-12-381978-9.10006-X A healthy adult (70 kg BW, without obesity) supplemental intake (this nutrition - "dose" is medicine) is 0.125 millgrams a day = 1 gram every 22 years.
If someone wants to avoid this and use yeast-based vitamin D2 instead, that's their choice, but D2 is harder to get and is not as effective: https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=2138 . There are vegan vitamin D3 supplement capsules. A quick Web search indicates that the highest amount in available capsules is 0.125 mg 5000 IU. This is OK for once per day for average weight adults, but they are quite expensive, such as 60 caps for USD$17.35: https://mrmnutrition.com/products/vegan-vitamin-d3. This is USD$104 a year, and many people need twice this or more. I am currently using these 1.25 mg 50,000 IU capsules: https://www.microingredients.com/products/vitamin-d3-plus-k2-mk-7 USD$29 for 240 caps, ex shipping and tax. For someone wanting 0.125 mg 5000 IU a day, one every 10 days would suffice, which is USD$4.47 a year.
I don't advocate everyone get "vitamin D" (really 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is not a vitamin) blood tests. Everyone except those who get an excessive amount of UV-B light all year round and babies who are breastfed by vitamin D replete mothers needs to supplement vitamin D3 (or more D2) to attain 50 ng/mL or more circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This link leads to a recommendation on how much vitamin D3 to supplement according to body weight and obesity status: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#00-how-much . This will work for any age and body weight or type. Assuming there are no medical indications to the contrary, these intakes should be safe, so there is no need for blood tests or medical monitoring.
Thank you for your detailed info and references. The reason I recommend people getting a blood test to check their vitamin D level is because most people are not taking vitamin D supplements or, if they are, it might only be in the 400 IU per day amount or whatever is put in milk and other foods we eat. Also, years ago when I was a practicing NP, I would recommend an additional amount of vitamin D3 intake based on what the person’s blood level was to get them to an optimum amount of 50 ng/mL. This was individualized rather than simply telling everyone to take 5000 IU per day. However, taking 5000 IU per day is safe for most people.
Thanks Robin , for pushing this information out , I recently got an email from my healthcare insurance about keeping healthy in winter, none of this was mentioned, I do recall seeing the large study that was in BMJ years ago and showed promising result with just 1000iu a day , word is getting out slowly and sadly thanks to Covid and Substack, me and my family are now listening!!
Dr. McCullough, you wrote that "The authors do not mention the vaccine status of the study subjects." Actually, the status was clearly stated. The following statement is in the Methods section under the subheading "Study participants": "All participants provided a post-COVID blood sample before a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination to exclude the potential effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on our study." Also, in the introduction, "We leveraged a well-characterized cohort (Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus (LIINC)7; Supplementary Tables 1–3) to analyze the blood from 27 LC and 16 R individuals, obtained 8 months postinfection (Fig. 1a) before any SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or reinfection. "
Thus, your hypothesis that "likely those vaccinated had far worsened proteomic and cellular metrics given super-antigen loading with Spike protein that occurs with vaccination" may be correct but was not tested by this study, which only studied unvaccinated subjects.
Thanks for bringing this study to our attention; anything long-COVID related is appreciated since a close family member has been suffering for 3 years (they began your protocol from the Wellness Co. on Jan. 1, hopefully with positive results).
Expression of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, and RANTES genes in lymph nodes from HIV+ individuals: correlation with a Th1-type cytokine response
results demonstrate that a high IFN-γ production is accompanied by a strong expression of MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and RANTES in the lymph node after HIV infection. This favours the idea that a Th1-type immune response correlates with a preferential production of C-C chemokines in FHLN of HIV+ patients....
The most obvious and dramatic immunologic change that occurs during progression of an HIV infection to AIDS is the severe depletion of CD4+ T cells in the blood and in lymphoid tissue. However, long before a decline in the number of circulating CD4+ T cells is obvious a loss of the T helper (Th) cell function is observed in HIV+ individuals [1], indicating that factors other than CD4 depletion contribute to T cell dysfunction. As a popular hypothesis it has been put forward that a switch from the Th1 to the Th2 cytokine phenotype is a critical step in the progression of HIV disease
I've been diagnosed with Long COVID. I am unvaccinated and got CV for the first time in December 2023. I got a course of Ivermectin and Doxycycline through PUSH Health and was over the symptoms in three days. I have had two reoccurrences and am in the second one now. I have been taking D3, Zinc, and Vitamin C since the beginning of the Pandemic, and just started taking Nattokinase. Where can I purchase the protocol ingredients listed above?
Thank you for these observations, and I'm so glad you didn't bring "HIV" into the picture. Mathematical biologist Rebecca Culshaw Smith has written a lot about the "too big to fail" HIV scam, the fraudulence of all HIV tests, and how immune disregulation is a real problem but has never been proved to be caused by HIV. https://rebeccaculshawsmith.substack.com/p/too-big-to-fail-from-november-2022?
She asserts HIV was a sort of pilot project or clinical trial for the more universal reach of the covid scam, including demonization of dissident scientists and physicians. Even now, useless but toxic Pre-exposure Prophylaxis drugs are being heavily marketed to wide swaths of people testing HIV negative.
It is not surprising that so many people get sick and have long lasting symptoms from COVID-19. Most people have half or less of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D their immune systems need to function properly, at least in winter. Those with dark or black skin who live far from the equator have even lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.
The ultraviolet B light which converts 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3 cholecalciferol also damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer. If this was the only way of attaining vitamin D3 (only a few foods contain it, and then in extremely low quantities), then we would have to take the risk and use special lamps most of the year. Fortunately, vitamin D3 supplementation is inexpensive. It can be taken every 7 to 10 days.
For most people, the only practical way of attaining the 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L) 25-hydroxyvitamin D we need is vitamin D3 supplementation in quantities well above the lousy 0.02 milligrams (800 IU) a day most governments recommend for adults. Neither vitamin D3 nor 25-hydroxyvitamin D (produced in the liver from vitamin D3) are hormones. (Vieth 2004 https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/j.jsbmb.2004.03.037.)
Please see the research on the vitamin D compounds and the immune system, cited and discussed at: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/ .
https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#00-how-much includes Prof. Sunil Wimalawansa's recommendations https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/14/2997 for vitamin D3 supplemental intake to attain at least the 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L) circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which the immune system needs to function properly. As he noted in a recent FLCCC webinar, these are ratios of body weight, with higher ratios for those suffering from obesity: https://odysee.com/@FrontlineCovid19CriticalCareAlliance:c/Weeekly_Webinar_Aug16_2023:d?t=3386 This is because people suffering from obesity convert less vitamin D3 into circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D than normal-weight people.
The average daily vitamin D3 intake should be:
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).
For 70 kg (154 lb) without obesity, this is about 0.125 milligrams (5000 IU) a day. This takes several months to attain the desired > 50 ng/mL circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This is 6 or more times what most governments recommend. "5000 IU" sounds like a lot, but it is a gram every 22 years - and pharma grade vitamin D costs about USD$2.50 a gram ex-factory.
Vitamin D and dementia: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.3. The impact of low 25(OH)D on autism, preeclampsia, pre-term birth and low birth weight: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.2 .
Surely, proper 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels would help with long COVID.
You have reported a good summary of vitamin D3 dosing. Be aware that D3 comes from animal sources and vegetarians will take vitamin D2 instead, which comes from plant sources. But is too little an amount from food, as you say, without supplementation. Vitamin serves so many purposes in the body. Its protective role in COVID is no wonder why the government has tried to downplay its benefits with studies designed to fail as they did with ivermectin, etc. Everyone should have their vitamin D level checked as part of routine physicals, but there are only very limited diagnoses for which it is covered by insurance. 50 ng/mL is the optimum blood level but the government considers much lower levels as normal.
Hi Allie, I don't eat meat or poultry, but I eat plenty of fish and other seafood. Each to his or her own, but I think people who avoid animal food will have a very difficult time getting proper nutrition.
Supplemental vitamin D3 is made by a complex process of creating 7-dehydrocholesterol from cholesterol obtained from wool fat. This is subjected to UV-B light with particular wavelengths, which breaks one of the carbon-carbon bonds in one of the rings. The resulting molecule folds, of its own accord, into vitamin D3. sci-hub.se/10.1016/B978-0-12-381978-9.10006-X A healthy adult (70 kg BW, without obesity) supplemental intake (this nutrition - "dose" is medicine) is 0.125 millgrams a day = 1 gram every 22 years.
If someone wants to avoid this and use yeast-based vitamin D2 instead, that's their choice, but D2 is harder to get and is not as effective: https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=2138 . There are vegan vitamin D3 supplement capsules. A quick Web search indicates that the highest amount in available capsules is 0.125 mg 5000 IU. This is OK for once per day for average weight adults, but they are quite expensive, such as 60 caps for USD$17.35: https://mrmnutrition.com/products/vegan-vitamin-d3. This is USD$104 a year, and many people need twice this or more. I am currently using these 1.25 mg 50,000 IU capsules: https://www.microingredients.com/products/vitamin-d3-plus-k2-mk-7 USD$29 for 240 caps, ex shipping and tax. For someone wanting 0.125 mg 5000 IU a day, one every 10 days would suffice, which is USD$4.47 a year.
I don't advocate everyone get "vitamin D" (really 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is not a vitamin) blood tests. Everyone except those who get an excessive amount of UV-B light all year round and babies who are breastfed by vitamin D replete mothers needs to supplement vitamin D3 (or more D2) to attain 50 ng/mL or more circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This link leads to a recommendation on how much vitamin D3 to supplement according to body weight and obesity status: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#00-how-much . This will work for any age and body weight or type. Assuming there are no medical indications to the contrary, these intakes should be safe, so there is no need for blood tests or medical monitoring.
Thank you for your detailed info and references. The reason I recommend people getting a blood test to check their vitamin D level is because most people are not taking vitamin D supplements or, if they are, it might only be in the 400 IU per day amount or whatever is put in milk and other foods we eat. Also, years ago when I was a practicing NP, I would recommend an additional amount of vitamin D3 intake based on what the person’s blood level was to get them to an optimum amount of 50 ng/mL. This was individualized rather than simply telling everyone to take 5000 IU per day. However, taking 5000 IU per day is safe for most people.
Is a blood level of 80 ng/mL dangerously high from taking 5000 D3 daily?
A blood level of 80 ng/mL is safe. A level of greater than 100 ng/mL may be harmful. A level greater than 250 ng/mL is considered toxic.
Is a blood level of 80ng/mL dangerously high?
Thanks Robin , for pushing this information out , I recently got an email from my healthcare insurance about keeping healthy in winter, none of this was mentioned, I do recall seeing the large study that was in BMJ years ago and showed promising result with just 1000iu a day , word is getting out slowly and sadly thanks to Covid and Substack, me and my family are now listening!!
Thank you Dr. McCullough! A True Truth Warrior who we so much Love and Appreciate!
Dr. McCullough, you wrote that "The authors do not mention the vaccine status of the study subjects." Actually, the status was clearly stated. The following statement is in the Methods section under the subheading "Study participants": "All participants provided a post-COVID blood sample before a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination to exclude the potential effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on our study." Also, in the introduction, "We leveraged a well-characterized cohort (Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus (LIINC)7; Supplementary Tables 1–3) to analyze the blood from 27 LC and 16 R individuals, obtained 8 months postinfection (Fig. 1a) before any SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or reinfection. "
Thus, your hypothesis that "likely those vaccinated had far worsened proteomic and cellular metrics given super-antigen loading with Spike protein that occurs with vaccination" may be correct but was not tested by this study, which only studied unvaccinated subjects.
Thanks for bringing this study to our attention; anything long-COVID related is appreciated since a close family member has been suffering for 3 years (they began your protocol from the Wellness Co. on Jan. 1, hopefully with positive results).
Expression of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, and RANTES genes in lymph nodes from HIV+ individuals: correlation with a Th1-type cytokine response
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1904935/
results demonstrate that a high IFN-γ production is accompanied by a strong expression of MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and RANTES in the lymph node after HIV infection. This favours the idea that a Th1-type immune response correlates with a preferential production of C-C chemokines in FHLN of HIV+ patients....
The most obvious and dramatic immunologic change that occurs during progression of an HIV infection to AIDS is the severe depletion of CD4+ T cells in the blood and in lymphoid tissue. However, long before a decline in the number of circulating CD4+ T cells is obvious a loss of the T helper (Th) cell function is observed in HIV+ individuals [1], indicating that factors other than CD4 depletion contribute to T cell dysfunction. As a popular hypothesis it has been put forward that a switch from the Th1 to the Th2 cytokine phenotype is a critical step in the progression of HIV disease
Subject vaxxed / boosted status was not stated. So . . . . . . . . we just go to "likely" right of start?
I've been diagnosed with Long COVID. I am unvaccinated and got CV for the first time in December 2023. I got a course of Ivermectin and Doxycycline through PUSH Health and was over the symptoms in three days. I have had two reoccurrences and am in the second one now. I have been taking D3, Zinc, and Vitamin C since the beginning of the Pandemic, and just started taking Nattokinase. Where can I purchase the protocol ingredients listed above?
Thank you for these observations, and I'm so glad you didn't bring "HIV" into the picture. Mathematical biologist Rebecca Culshaw Smith has written a lot about the "too big to fail" HIV scam, the fraudulence of all HIV tests, and how immune disregulation is a real problem but has never been proved to be caused by HIV. https://rebeccaculshawsmith.substack.com/p/too-big-to-fail-from-november-2022?
She asserts HIV was a sort of pilot project or clinical trial for the more universal reach of the covid scam, including demonization of dissident scientists and physicians. Even now, useless but toxic Pre-exposure Prophylaxis drugs are being heavily marketed to wide swaths of people testing HIV negative.