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It seems to me that vitamin D has only had a stimulating effect on the immune system for a few years. How long have scientists and doctors known that vitamin D also plays a role in the human defense mechanism?
In Scandinavian countries and the United States, many people took vitamin D as early as the 1950s. Also, because doctors and scientists did not yet know how much the body needed, they often gave people more than what is offered. in today’s proposals. We know more and more about vitamin D, and since then we know in much more detail what effect it has on the body. We have known it for about thirty years In addition to strengthening the skeletal system, it also has antitumor and immunoregulatory effects. It did not spread into the public consciousness immediately, it took much longer.
What is the reason for this?
Vitamin D works in a completely different way than other known vitamins. First, it should be clarified that vitamin D is not a vitamin. It has nothing to do with vitamins. It is a precursor to a hormone, an ancient skeletal steroid hormone. It is produced in the skin, by sunlight, and then activated in the body in several stages. Liver first: This happens to almost everyone, except in patients with severe and active liver. The next activation takes place in part in the kidneys; This affects the metabolism of calcium in the body. The effects of bone strengthening, calcium metabolism, have been known for a long time; bone softening is a known disease for hundreds of years. When this disease was investigated, doctors realized that vitamin D had a good effect on the bones. They then began to study other effects of hormone D, which does not affect bones. It has been shown to have a beneficial effect on the immune system and also against tumor cells; in this case, it is activated locally, in the tissues, and immediately exerts its effect in the cell or in the cellular environment. We now know that this effect is also extremely important, which is why more and more people are taking the precursor of hormone D, that is, vitamin D.
Immunologists say that the immune system cannot be strengthened because it is a system that we were born with. However, how does vitamin D support the human defense mechanism?
If a person does not have a vitamin D deficiency, the administration of vitamin D has no effect on heaven. With a good supply of vitamin D, it doesn’t really strengthen the immune system further. The problem is when someone has a significant deficiency of vitamin D. In this case, vitamin D eliminates the deficiency and thus affects the functioning of the immune system, that is, supports it. The goal is to avoid developing a vitamin D deficiency, as this will weaken the immune response, which is why it is worth taking it daily during winter. It’s not about further strengthening the immune response that already works well by taking vitamin D, but the point is to prevent weakening. Anyway, the effect is very complex. I’ll try to put it a bit simplistic. One of its effects is in the direction of autoimmunity, that is, if vitamin D deficiency causes an autoimmune-based disease. Unfortunately, this is quite common. Examples of such diseases are certain types of diabetes or lupus, but also rheumatoid arthritis. Anyone who is deficient in vitamin D has a significantly higher risk of developing these diseases. If someone is deficient in vitamin D as a child, or if their mother is severely deficient in vitamin D during pregnancy, that person is 80 percent more likely to develop certain types of diabetes in adolescence. That is a terrifyingly large number.
Another effect of hormone D is when the immune system is attacked from the outside by a pathogen, bacteria or virus. If a person is deficient in vitamin D, their ability to defend against these pathogens may be reduced. This effect was first associated with tuberculosis, then it was found to be effective in upper respiratory tract infections, influenza, and other viruses. People are at higher risk of contracting these pathogens and getting sick if they are deficient in vitamin D. The coronavirus that is now causing the epidemic is also such a pathogen, and that is why we say that if people have adequate levels of vitamin D, they may be at a lower risk of serious illness or being put on a ventilator. We only found this virus a few months ago, so detailed scientific results are not yet available, but the first two clinical trials suggest that vitamin D may also help with coronavirus infection. That is why vitamin D must be supplemented in the autumn-winter period. Of course, it is most optimal if you do not develop a vitamin D deficiency, because then the healthy immune system will do what it is capable of. It is very important to say that vitamin D does not protect against coronavirus. It is just that if someone comes across the virus and has adequate levels of vitamin D, a more prepared immune system will be better able to fight the infection. It does not matter at all for this virus if you have a weak or strong immune system. It can also be a matter of life and death.
How do we know what our vitamin D levels are? Obviously, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people cannot be sent for laboratory testing at this time. Lest we know our own vitamin D levels, how much vitamin D should we take?
Hungary is in a rather special position in this regard. There is a professional consensus developed by more than ten companies. The recommendation of this consensus is completely consistent, which means that medicine clearly takes a position on this issue. At the end of winter, vitamin D deficiency in people is extremely common in Hungary. From late autumn to March there is less sunlight, there is no UVB radiation, so the level of vitamin D in the body of Hungarians is reduced by half at the end of winter compared to what it collected from the sun in late autumn. According to a survey conducted in Hungary, 94 percent of people do not have a perfect supply of vitamin D. More than 70 percent have a specific vitamin D deficiency and, what is more surprising, 20 percent of the population you develop an extreme vitamin D deficiency in late winter, which is certainly already having a negative effect on the immune system. This means that one in five Hungarians is affected by this serious shortage. To avoid this, you should take two thousand international units of vitamin D a day from now until the end of March. This is the amount that should not cause an overdose and measurements should not be taken. I know there are also opinions – you can see them mainly on the internet, in shared videos – where they say that you can safely take 4, 6 or even 10,000 units of vitamin D, but these opinion leaders are not professionals. These amounts are no longer safe. One can overdose on vitamin D. At ten thousand units a day, an overdose can certainly have serious consequences in a relatively short period of time. However, it should be noted that due to the long half-life of vitamin D, the amount corresponding to the daily dose can be taken weekly or monthly. That is, 2,000 units per day can be taken weekly (14,000 / week) or monthly (60,000 IU / month).
So, isn’t it true that someone who takes more vitamin D than recommended will have a stronger immune system?
No, it is not true at all. Two thousand units a day is exactly enough to prevent vitamin D deficiency. Taking more than this can have serious consequences. Also, the half-life of vitamin D in the body is about two weeks.
What are the symptoms of a vitamin D overdose?
This is one of the biggest dangers of not noticing anything for a long time. The first sign of an overdose is increased levels of calcium in the urine. But nobody realizes this; Obviously people don’t have a weekly lab test where they can prove it. At most, you may notice that there will be a little more urine. But the kidney begins to slowly break down. Kidney stones can form, and I must say that this is the minor problem in this case. The biggest problem is when the kidney begins to calcify and kidney failure develops. If someone is taking extremely large amounts of vitamin D, it can ruin their kidneys. Sure, not overnight, but if someone takes more vitamin D than is allowed for months, a year or two, irreversible kidney failure can develop. Also, if the kidneys can no longer compensate, calcium levels in the blood can rise and additional health problems can occur. Vitamin D is not a candy, you must be careful with it. Of course, if someone has absorption problems and their vitamin D levels are constantly measured under medical supervision, they can take higher amounts of vitamin D with the advice of a specialist, but this should be monitored regularly.
Perhaps someone is taking too much vitamin D, and instead of supporting their immune system, they are doing the opposite: that is, will the immune response to a possible infection be too strong or will an autoimmune disease develop?
No, that’s not possible. One type of immune mechanism does not spread to another, other cells are responsible for the development of autoimmune diseases, and other cells are responsible for protection against invading pathogens.
If someone decides they don’t want to take vitamin D capsules, oils, or pills because they eat a variety, is that enough? That is, can we take the adequate amount of vitamin D with food?
There is very little vitamin D in the Hungarian diet, so our diet cannot get the adequate amount of vitamin D at home from food. The normal, varied and traditional Hungarian diet contains 80 to 150 units of vitamin D per day. Therefore, it must be replaced with capsules, tablets. Some foods are rich in vitamin D, but in Hungary we do not consume them daily. Some examples are wild salmon or cod liver oil. However, these are not part of the Hungarian diet.
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