Vitamin D Supplementation for the Treatment of COVID-19
Mainstream medical has been recommending adequate vitamin D intake and levels to help combat COVID-19, or at least make the symptoms less severe if infected. Supplementation with vitamin D is a good idea, however, as with all supplements there are wanted and unwanted side effects. I haven’t heard any mainstream media or otherwise talking about the necessary supplements that are needed to support the intake of Vitamin D. If these are not taken with Vitamin D there could be disastrous health consequences.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D binds to cells in your body to help them regulate how much calcium and phosphate you absorb from food. Vitamin D is critical for immune function. A deficiency in this nutrient may compromise immune response and increase your risk of infection and disease.
Vitamin K2
(Mk4, Mk7) Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is found in dark leafy greens. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is found in animal meat, fermented foods, and can be created by your gut. K2 tells the calcium in your body where to go when part of vitamin D supplementation. Excess calcium in the bloodstream can lead to calcification of the inside of the arteries, resulting in poor cardiovascular health. Unabsorbed calcium can also cause nausea, frequent urination, fatigue, and kidney problems like kidney stones.
Taking a Vitamin D3 supplement without K2 can have disastrous effect, as Vitamin D creates need for Vitamin K2 in the body. As a guide, you should take 45mcg of Vitamin K2 per 1000 IU of Vitamin D3.
Certain medications deplete K2 or inhibit its absorption:
- Warfarin or coagulants
- Statins
- Broad spectrum antibiotics Vitamin K2 is also produced by gut bacteria in the large intestine, and there is some evidence that broad-spectrum antibiotics can contribute to K2
- deficiency.
- Cholestyramine and colestipol, bile acid sequestrants
- Orlistat – a weight-loss drug which reduces absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin K.
Magnesium (Mg)
Magnesium is essential in the metabolism of vitamin D and taking large doses of vitamin D can induce severe depletion of Mg. Adequate magnesium supplementation should be considered as an important aspect of vitamin D therapy.
The mineral is involved in over 300 enzyme reactions and over 600 cellular reactions.
Recent studies have shown that if a person is deficient in magnesium, no amount of Vitamin D3 supplementation will allow a patient to realize the health benefits of adequate Vitamin D. Magnesium is a critical factor in making Vitamin D bioavailable. Without magnesium present, Vitamin D is stored in the body and not used. Magnesium deficiency prevents the body from using the Vitamin D you are supplementing it with.
Magnesium Deficiency in COVID and Cytokine Storm
I recently came across a research study pointing to the importance of magnesium in COVID infection. Essentially it points to a magnesium deficiency can cause a cytokine storm. A cytokine storm is essentially an overactive, inflammatory response by certain types of white cells. Magnesium deficiency can also lead to blood clots called disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).
Some people with COVID-19 develop abnormal blood clots, including in the smallest blood vessels. The clots may also form in multiple places in the body, including in the lungs. This unusual clotting may cause different complications, including organ damage, heart attack and stroke.
References
- https://jom.osteopathic.org/#:~:text=Vitamin%20D%20helps%20regulate%20calcium,to%20maintain%20healthy%20bone%20functions.&text=Skeletal%20muscles%2C%20heart%2C%20teeth%2C,needed%20to%20activate%20vitamin%20D
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7861592/
- https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/coronavirus/blood#:~:text=Some%20people%20with%20COVID%2D,heart%20attack%20and%20stroke.
- https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-K