Vitamin D and Pandemic Influenza

 

First things first:

 

I am not a medical professional. What I have chosen to arm myself and my family with is based on my own readings and my own evaluations of an item's efficacy. I do not recommend anyone blindly believe that what I post here has merit in the prevention or treatment of Pandemic Influenza. Instead, I hope you will be motivated to do further reading and independent evaluations to decide if the options are applicable to your situation.

 

Second things second:

 

When it comes to supplements there is a bewildering array of information available on the internet, some of it good, much of it bad. There are often conflicting findings; one study will find a supplement to be of benefit and another will debunk it. When deciding to utilize a substance that we intend to ingest into our bodies, or give to those we love, we should first strive to "do no harm". Secondly we must decide if the sought after benefit outweighs any of the possible/potential harm. Thirdly, we must understand the proper storage and usage of the supplement. Even the best, most efficacious vitamin or herb will do little or no good if we don't take it properly.

 

 

Vitamin D

 

One of the major items I have in my arsenal is plain old Vitamin D. If, and when, an Influenza Pandemic presents itself I will put my family on a daily maintenance regime of 2,000 IUs in divided doses. When PanFlu hits the shores of my country I will up the daily dosage to 4,000 IUs.

 

There are a few caveats associated with Vitamin D and influenza prevention/modulation that should be stated upfront. All points are taken from Wikipedia's entry on Vitamin D.

• The recommended daily allowance seems to be far too low to derive the sought after benefit.
  • The U.S. Dietary Reference Intake for Adequate Intake (AI) of vitamin D for infants, children and men and women aged 19–50 is 5 micrograms/day (200 units/day).^[11] Adequate intake increases to 10 micrograms/day (400 units/day) for men and women aged 51–70 and to 15 micrograms/day (600 units/day) past the age of 70.^[1]
• There are skin pigmentation absorption issues. The darker your skin the less Vitamin D you will make from sunlight, thus your risk of being Vitamin D deficient increase. The strong anecdotal evidence linking vitamin D deficiency and influenza would suggest that non-whites will suffer a far greater infection and mortality rate than fair skinned people, and therefore should have greater motivation to look after their levels of intake.
• At latitudes above or below 30° the decreased angle of the sun during the winter months, shorter days, colder weather, and heavier clothing will all contribute to an inability of the body producing the desired amount naturally, thus greatly increasing the risk of Vitamin D deficiency.
• In order to gain the benefit a daily allowance of at least 2,000 IUs are probably required.

   

 

From Wikipedia's entry on Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble prohormones, the two major forms of which are vitamin D₂ (or ergocalciferol) and vitamin D₃ (or cholecalciferol).^[1] The term vitamin D also refers to metabolites and other analogues of these substances. Vitamin D₃ is produced in skin exposed to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B radiation.

    …..

Vitamin D plays an important role in the maintenance of several organ systems.^[2]

Vitamin D₂: ergocalciferol or calciferol (made from ergosterol)

Vitamin D₃: cholecalciferol (made from 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin).

Vitamin D₂ is derived from fungal and plant sources, and is not produced by the human body. Vitamin D₃ is derived from animal sources and is made in the skin when 7-dehydrocholesterol reacts with UVB ultraviolet light at wavelengths between 270–290 nm.^[4] These wavelengths are present in sunlight at sea level when the sun is more than 45° above the horizon, or when the UV index is greater than 3.^[5] Adequate amounts of vitamin D₃ can be made in the skin only after ten to fifteen minutes of sun exposure at least two times per week to the face, arms, hands, or back without sunscreen. With longer exposure to UVB rays, an equilibrium is achieved in the skin, and the vitamin simply degrades as fast as it is generated.^[1]

 

 

The Vitamin D story as it relates to Influenza infection in humans is not extensive, however what is available is promising. I can not do the concept justice in this blog entry, but what I can do is point you to where you need to go for support of Vitamin D's usage.

 

The ABCs of D

Almost everyone needs more of the sunshine vitamin

By Deborah Kotz

Posted 12/10/06

A single nutrient that keeps bones strong, wards off diabetes, and protects against tuberculosis, cancer, colds, and the flu. Sound too good to be true? There's more: It's free. But you're almost certainly not getting enough.

    [snip]

Prior to the industrial revolution, humans had no trouble getting an abundance of the sunshine vitamin; a mere 10 to 15 minutes outdoors at midday gives the average fair-skinned person 10,000 international units. That's far above the government's dietary recommendations of 200 IUs a day up to age 50, 400 IUs to age 70, and 600 IUs over 70. But most people nowadays spend little time outdoors, and food sources such as milk and salmon contain relatively modest amounts. What's more, the rash of new findings suggests to the experts that the guidelines are way too low. "There's no one working in the field who thinks these levels still make sense," says Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University whose recent studies have focused on the connection between vitamin D and cancer.

[snip]

An immune system link might explain why the flu seems to strike only during the winter. A review of more than 100 studies on vitamin D and respiratory diseases, published in the current Epidemiology and Infection, found that low levels probably allow the viruses to penetrate the immune system. "It's the first comprehensive theory set forth to explain the seasonality of influenza," says vitamin D expert and lead author John Cannell, president of the Vitamin D Council and staff psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital in California. What's now needed, he says, is a trial to see if those exposed to flu viruses are less likely to come down with an infection if they take supplements.

The possibility intrigues researchers bracing for an outbreak of avian flu, which quickly kills by triggering an excessive immune response. Victims often suffocate when an onslaught of disease-fighting cells, known as a cytokine storm, results in a rapid buildup of fluid in the lungs. Experts think vitamin D might rev up the part of the immune system that prevents the germs from gaining entry to cells in the first place. "This puts a damper on the part of the immune system that releases the cytokine storm," says Michael Zasloff, an immunologist and vitamin D researcher at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Research shows that the mechanism also seems to protect against multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks the body's own healthy tissue.

[snip]

How much to take? The government last year suggested that African-Americans and the elderly might want more than the guidelines suggest, but it has set 2,000 IUs as its ceiling for safety. Most experts think the limit is too conservative, noting that there's no evidence of toxicity at much higher doses and that 2,000 IUs is a worthy goal for everybody. Consuming 3 ounces of tuna, two glasses of milk, and a glass of fortified orange juice will get you to 500 IUs, and a supplement or two will get you the rest.

 

Further reading:

 

Pandemic Flu Information Discussion Forum thread: Vitamin D

 

Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D 15 Sep 2006   

[snip]

Hope-Simpson had no way of knowing that vitamin D has profound effects on human immunity, no way of knowing that it increases production of broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides, peptides that quickly destroy the influenza virus. We have only recently learned how vitamin D increases production of antimicrobial peptides while simultaneously preventing the immune system from releasing too many inflammatory cells, called chemokines and cytokines, into infected lung tissue.

 

Vitamin D and genomic stability

[snip]

Vitamin D is also effective in stimulating DNA synthesis in adult alveolar II cells and provides a novel mechanism of modulation of epithelial cell proliferation in the context of lung development and repair against injury.

 

Wikipedia's Vitamin D page

[snip]

Active vitamin D hormone also increases the production of cathelicidin, an antimicrobial peptide that is produced in macrophages triggered by bacteria, viruses, and fungi.[29] Vitamin D deficiency tends to increase the risk of infections, such as influenza and tuberculosis.

 

As I tell myself everyday: We are not helpless, even in the face of something as daunting as a severe Influenza Pandemic.

 

SZ

 

 

Comments

[AnneZ]

SZ, Your blog is always an interesting blog to read. AZ

A study on latitude latitude. It suggests 34 degrees can provide adequate sunlight. It does not appear to take in to account extra clothing worn.

...model has been developed to evaluate the effect of seasonal and latitudinal changes on the potential of sunlight to initiate cutaneous production of vitamin D3. Human skin or [3 alpha-3H]7-dehydrocholesterol exposed to sunlight on cloudless days in Boston (42.2 degrees N) from November through February produced no previtamin D3. In Edmonton (52 degrees N) this ineffective winter period extended from October through March. Further south (34 degrees N and 18 degrees N), sunlight effectively photoconverted 7- dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3 in the middle of winter. http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/373

[gsgs]

should it indeed prove useful, could we quickly produce it in large quantities ?
How is it produced ?
Should the average flubie stockpile
it now or wait for further research ?

[Tom]

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/102530291/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Anti-influenza virus activity of crude extract of Ribes nigrum L.
Yoko M. Knox *, Tatsuo Suzutani, Itsuro Yosida, Masanobu Azuma
Department of Microbiology, Asahikawa Medical College, 2-1-1-1 Midorigaoka-higashi, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan

email: Yoko M. Knox (yokoknox@pacbell.net)

*Correspondence to Yoko M. Knox, Department of Microbiology, Asahikawa Medical College, 2-1-1-1 Midorigaoka-higashi, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan

Research Abstract
This experiment was designed to detect the antiviral activities of crude fruit extracts of wild Ribes nigrum L. (Kurokarin extract) [blackcurrant] against influenza virus types A and B. Kurokarin extract was prepared as follows: fruits of Ribes nigrum L. were heated at 50 °C in a heating tank, and then ground under anaerobic conditions. The extracts were centrifuged, and the supernatant fluid was filtered and sterilized by infrared rays. The crude extract was diluted with Eagle's minimum essential medium (MEM) and the solution was adjusted to a pH 7.2 with 0.1 N or 1 N NaOH. Proven anti-influenza virus effects of the extracts were shown. The concentration of extract required to inhibit the plaque formation of both IVA and IVB by 50% (IC50) was 3.2 g/mL. Both IVA and IVB were directly inactivated up to 99% by 10 g/mL of the extract at pH 2.8, and 95% to 98% by this dose at pH 7.2. The growth of IVA in cells treated with 10 and 100 g/mL of the extract for 6 h after infection was completely suppressed. Virus titres in culture fluids of the cells treated with 100 g/mL of Kurokarin extract for 1 h at 8 to 9 h after infection, were completely suppressed, indicating that the extract inhibited the virus release from the infected cells. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[SophiaZoe]

Thank you AnneZ for the additional resource to peruse. I look forward to reading it as the latitudes seem to be presented with much more specificity that what I had been able to find.

As you and I briefly discussed once, I believe this to be a critical and key component in our fight against PanFlu and any additional resources are greatly appreciated!

For those who may be unfamiliar with AnneZ, she is a long standing Flubie who can usually be found at www.FluTrackers.com, well worth the time to visit, and visit often.
----------

gsgs,

You know my answer to your questions. No, we can not supply 6.3+/- Billion people with Vitamin D supplements. What we can do is inform people that it is an item worth looking into and perhaps, after personal review, independantly stockpiling.

I feel this to especially important for non-white individuals and/or people who live in the further Northern/Southern latitudes.
--------

Tom,

Thank you as well! I look forward to reading the item with the attention that it deserves. I am especially interested in seeing if I can track down any In Vivo findings.

SZ

[gsgs]

OK, made from cod liver oil or lanolin, I found.
0.03g = 1000IE = 0.689Euro,
1kg lanolin (sheep wool fat) = 12 Euro.
So 6 weeks of D3 for one pandemic wave
cost about $100

[gsgs]

oops,divide by 10

[SophiaZoe]

gs,

I just *love* your mind! Wish you could email some of that math skill.

And, that reminds... I have to order in some Cod Liver Oil. It just never ends, as I find new "stuff" that may be of benefit, and then "what's enough?"

SZ