Leos "boost your immune system now" blog

[andyjohnsonman]

Just to warn any of you who want to follow the advice Leo gives in this blog it is NOT safe to mega dose vitamin D as Leo states on this blog, "It is safe to mega-dose Vitamin C and Vitamin D3 for short periods of time. I would do so immediately if I felt sick. A mega-dose of Vitamin C might be 5,000mg to 10,000 per day and a mega-dose of Vitamin D3 might be 10,000 to 20,000 IU. I would only mega-dose a few days at a time if I was sure I was sick."

 

I have been taking 50mg of Vitamin D for the last week and have ended up getting vitamin toxicity which can be very serious which has lead to kidney pain, bones aching all over, nausea, constipation, fatigue and constant urination. I would recommend no more than 10mg of Vitamin D a day and refrain from Leo's advice of mega dosing this stuff.

[Michael569]

1 hour ago, andyjohnsonman said:

"It is safe to mega-dose Vitamin C and Vitamin D3 for short periods of time

For people who are low in Vitamin D (e.g. being between 10-30 ng/mL) they may need to take 10,000 IU for a a month or two to get to at least into 60s. If you want to get them to 80s (optimal value) they may need to take 20,000 for a month. You can also get there by taking 5,000 but it may take you half a year. When we say megadosing usually these would mean doses above 10,000 IU. But I would ALWAYS test before taking more than 2,000 IU (50mcg) daily as the risk of toxicity is very real indeed if your levels are already too high. 

Vitamin C supplements have questionable efficacy and the evidence does not support that they are superior to just eating vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables. In my opinion vitamin C supplements are only useful when you get sick otherwise I'd always rely on food. 

1 hour ago, andyjohnsonman said:

I have been taking 50mg of Vitamin D for the last week and have ended up getting vitamin toxicity

Toxicity from 50mg? This doesn't seem right, at least not after a week. This is 2000 IU a very small dose that can be easily taken year long. It is likely there was something else causing that. 

1 hour ago, andyjohnsonman said:

which can be very serious which has lead to kidney pain, bones aching all over, nausea, constipation, fatigue and constant urination.

You'd actually get these from lack of vitamin D not excess. 

1 hour ago, andyjohnsonman said:

I would recommend no more than 10mg of Vitamin D a day and refrain from Leo's advice of mega dosing this stuff.

Not enough. 400 IU are too tiny of a dose to make any difference. 

[Average Investor]

@Michael569 I have a 5000IU vitamin D that I take every other day. Was super hard to find one that was fairly clean and plant based. Would it be worthwhile to just do 2000IU daily instead? 

[andyjohnsonman]

1 hour ago, Michael569 said:

You'd actually get these from lack of vitamin D not excess. 

2 hours ago, andyjohnsonman said:

Well it wasn't happening before I took Vitamin D and now it is. All those symptoms have suddenly come up since i've been taking 50mg of vitamin D a day. There was one day I took 70mg. The research shows that these are the symptoms of Vitamin toxicity.

[andyjohnsonman]

9 minutes ago, Average Investor said:

@Michael569 I have a 5000IU vitamin D that I take every other day. Was super hard to find one that was fairly clean and plant based. Would it be worthwhile to just do 2000IU daily instead? 

Thats way too much unless you have vitamin deficiency like Michael said. I would go down considerably as you don't wanna be bed bound for a few days with this like i have been.

[Michael569]

8 minutes ago, Average Investor said:

I have a 5000IU vitamin D that I take every other day. Was super hard to find one that was fairly clean and plant based. Would it be worthwhile to just do 2000IU daily instead? 

Can't give you the answer without knowing your levels. 2000 IU is a good maintenance dose. 5000 may be high if your levels are already good but does not have to be. Finger prick Vitamin D tests are fairly cheap and can be ordered online or pop a visit to your doc and ask for testing. 

[Michael569]

4 minutes ago, andyjohnsonman said:

Well it wasn't happening before I took Vitamin D and now it is. All those symptoms have suddenly come up since i've been taking 50mg of vitamin D a day. There was one day I took 70mg. The research shows that these are the symptoms of Vitamin toxicity.

Andy are you sure there isn't something else going on for you mate? I'm not saying it is impossible but it is really hard to imagine toxicity from 50 mg (2000IU) especially only after a week. It takes months to develop toxicity even at 20,000 IU (500mcg)

[andyjohnsonman]

10 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Andy are you sure there isn't something else going on for you mate? I'm not saying it is impossible but it is really hard to imagine toxicity from 50 mg (2000IU) especially only after a week. It takes months to develop toxicity even at 20,000 IU (500mcg)

I dont think its anything else although I have a cough which is unrelated to it. Ill keep you updated and im going to take a couple of months off supplements.

[Harikrishnan]

@Michael569 we have sun all year, do i need to take sup if i spend time in morning sun.

[Average Investor]

@Michael569 I was planning on trying to get a blood test soon. I will ask them to check the levels and see what they say. I live in Washington in the US, so sun is not out much this time of year. If It is though I am sitting in it lol. Thanks! By the way I am glad to see you offering services outside of this. You have my vouch for sure.  

[Michael569]

@Harikrishnan nah you're good. Send some to us in the cold Europe ?

@Average Investor same here in UK. Get it whenever you can and no harm in helping yourself with a supplement when needed.

thanks bud ? just launched the web last week still polishing and editing as i go. 

[Leo Gura]

I've taken 10,000 IU of Vitamin D for years. And my level is healthy, in the 50-60 range.

Taking 10,000 IU for a few weeks while sick with covid will not hurt you.

[Preety_India]

57 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I've taken 10,000 IU of Vitamin D for years. And my level is healthy, in the 50-60 range.

Taking 10,000 IU for a few weeks while sick with covid will not hurt you.

Hey I have a huge Vitamin D deficiency and I have been having this deficiency for years now. 

So I take 1000 units of vit D on any day sometimes occasionally. 

Is it safe to take 10,000 IU in one shot. Like that number looks scary to me. So I never took those kinda doses. Just want to know if it's safe 

 

My mom took 60,000 IU once in 2 weeks but I told her not to. She still did. 

What do you recommend? 

Recently my blood test showed my level as below 20.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Preety_India

[Leo Gura]

6 hours ago, Preety_India said:

Hey I have a huge Vitamin D deficiency and I have been having this deficiency for years now. 

So I take 1000 units of vit D on any day sometimes occasionally. 

Is it safe to take 10,000 IU in one shot. Like that number looks scary to me. So I never took those kinda doses. Just want to know if it's safe

Not only is it safe, if you have a deficiency, it would be unsafe to take anything less than 10,000 IU.

I've taken 10,000 IU every day for months and even a year+ at a time.

1,000 IU is nothing. It's not even worth taking so little.

[Life]

I noticed that some of you mixed-up the units (mg vs. mcg) pretty harshly.
@andyjohnsonman if you really took 50mg Vit D that would be 2,000,000 IU.

Around Nov19-Feb20 I took 12,000 IU Vit D daily (+K2 and some other supplements). In February my D3 level in my blood has been 80.9 ng/ml - which is pretty high but still far away from a toxic level.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Life

[Life]

6 hours ago, Preety_India said:

Recently my blood test showed my level as below 20.

Also be mindful at the units of your blood test.
ng/ml is the most typical one but a unit using mol e.g. nmol/l isn't that unusual either.

some examples:

20ng/ml = 50nmol/l

20nmol/l = 8ng/ml

80.9 ng/ml = 202.25nmol/l

[Preety_India]

@Life

My current vit D blood level is 16 ng/ml. 

 

[Michael569]

3 hours ago, Life said:

In February my D3 level in my blood has been 80.9 ng/ml

This is perfect! 

54 minutes ago, Preety_India said:

My current vit D blood level is 16 ng/ml.

I think you would definitely benefit from at least 5,000 IUs for up to 3 months. It is a perfectly safe dose. Perhaps start with 5,000 IU (125 mcg)  and check with your doctor in a month. If you don't get above 30 after a month, go for 10,000 (250mcg) and test a month later. If you are below 40 at the end of month 2, I'd consider 20,000 for a month and getting tested again. Ideally you want to get at least on 55, ideally 70-80. Once you start getting to 60s, drop the dose to a maintenance one which is 2,000

I know this seems like too much but It's just at that low level, the potential health consequences of long term low vitamin Dcan be very severe and chronic because with Vitamin D so low your immune system is very very crippled, slow & inefficient. Bone health could be impacted very severely as well after you'd hit menopause and lose the oestrogen protection. 

 

[Preety_India]

@Michael569 is that a daily dose? 

[Michael569]

@Preety_India Yes, 5000 International Units every day, in the morning with food Then try to see if you can get another appointment & blood test after 4-6 weeks to see how you're getting on.