People all over the world have spent months indoors, and the more time you spend inside, the likelihood of obtaining a healthy amount of sunlight exposure, and the vitamin produced as a result — vitamin D3 — continues to decline.
Why does this matter? [Watch video HERE]
Vitamin D deficiency has been called a, “The Silent Epidemic,” and some experts estimate that as high as 90% of Americans – or 9 in 10 – suffer from it.
Vitamin D functions more like a hormone than a vitamin, with extremely minute doses being essential for the regulation of most of the genes in the human body as well as innumerable cellular pathways and processes. Perhaps the most well-known function of vitamin D’s role in the modulation and regulation of the human immune system. There’s compelling evidence to suggest optimizing your vitamin D level can reduce your risk of COVID-19 and other viral infections such as seasonal influenza. A number of different scientists are calling for people and governments to prepare for the second wave of COVID-19 come fall, both in the U.S. and abroad. Considering SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to be responsive to temperature and humidity, with infectiousness increasing with lower temperatures and humidity levels, we’re likely going to see a reemergence of COVID-19 infections in the fall, during normal influenza season.
Which brings me to my point.
Right now, what’s REALLY IMPORTANT: Optimize Your Vitamin D Level Before Fall!
What this means is you now have a known “deadline” for optimizing your vitamin D level. To improve your immune function and lower your risk of viral infections, you’ll want to raise your vitamin D to a level between 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) and 80 ng/mL by fall.
Historically, December typically has the highest flu activity in the U.S., but it would probably be good to aim for October, or maybe even earlier depending on your location. Optimizing your vitamin D is particularly important if you have darker skin, as darker skin places you at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency — and serious COVID-19 infection. As reported by The Guardian, the COVID-19 mortality among black Americans is three times higher than that of whites, and researchers have long known that blacks cannot achieve optimal vitamin D levels from sun exposure at any time of the year in Northern America.
So, how do you go about optimizing your vitamin D level?
First, you need to find out what your base level is, this is done using a simple blood test. Once you know what your blood level is, you can assess the dose needed to maintain or improve your level. Again, the ideal level you’re looking for is above 40 ng/mL, and ideally between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL The easiest way to raise your level is by getting regular, safe sun exposure, but if you’re very dark-skinned, you may need to spend about 1.5 hours a day in the sun to have any noticeable effect. Those with very light skin may only need 15 minutes a day, which is far easier to achieve. Still, even with light skill people will typically struggle to maintain ideal levels during the winter. So, depending on your situation, you may need to use an oral vitamin D3 supplement. How much do you need? On average, people should take approximately 27 IU of D per pound of body weight. For example, if you weigh 100 lbs, you should take 2700IU of D daily. If the average male weighs 170 lbs, you should be taking approximately 4500IU of D, depending upon your skin color and your base dose of course.
I urge everyone to share this information with friends, family, and community at large so that we can minimize a second outbreak. The media is already telling us we are going to have another outbreak. They are going to make sure it happens.
Optimizing your vitamin D could help save many lives; far more than any vaccine program ever could.