Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story

Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by Alex3917 on Monday August 24, 2020 @02:08PM (#24263505)

Even if you're taking vitamin D supplements, you probably won't get the full anti-covid benefits unless you also get at least 15 (and preferably 30) minutes of direct sunlight exposure each day. My understanding is that vitamin D causes your skin to produce nitric oxide, but this nitric oxide doesn't actually get released into the rest of your body unless you get actual sun exposure.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by BurningFrog on Monday August 24, 2020 @04:26PM (#24265122)

> get at least 15 (and preferably 30) minutes of direct sunlight exposure each day

This time is directly proportional to how much skin you expose to the sun. If it's only face & hands you need a lot more than if you're in the swimsuit.

It would be interesting to know what clothing the 15-30 min tip assumes.

Also, sunlight through a window does nothing. You need the UV light.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by jimmaswell on Monday August 24, 2020 @10:48PM (#24267719)

I wonder if incandescent bulbs were better for us in this one area.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by 0134340 on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @02:06AM (#24268492)

Not a doctor or any profession of relevance but I do use tanning lights. Incandescents produce mostly visible light and very little UVA or UVB for those health concerns. Fluorescents tend to produce more UVB in comparison but still very negligible. Tanning lights generally produce the amount of UVA and UVB needed for vitamin D synthesis although you have to use with caution.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by BurningFrog on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @10:31PM (#24278493)

No, they don't produce any UV light.

Even if the filament somehow does (I doubt it), it won't make it through the glass of the bulb.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by hoseja on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @02:42AM (#24268675)

I don't think incandescent bulbs produce any significant UV. The temperature is too low.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by SamBam on Monday August 24, 2020 @02:15PM (#24263591)

Any sources? I've seen much discussion of vitamin D and COVID, and they all appear to imply that supplements would help.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by Alex3917 on Monday August 24, 2020 @02:23PM (#24263696)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24445737/

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by SamBam on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @01:13PM (#24273582)

That isn't a source for vitamin D supplements not having an effect on COVID, that's a source saying that sunlight is needed to produce nitric oxide.

Looking online, I see that there is a hypothesis that nitric oxide has a protective effect against COVID, but I don't see that this hypothesis is any better tested than the hypothesis that vitamin D itself has a protective effect against COVID.

So, sunlight will probably get you the best of both worlds, as it would help either way, but there doesn't seem to be real evidence for nitric oxide vs vitamin D.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by Alex3917 on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @03:34PM (#24275118)

Yeah I would describe the evidence for both as circumstantial but fairly compelling, and very low risk. Even given the unknowns and potential risks, getting enough sun exposure is probably the best anti-Covid intervention from a cost-benefit perspective.

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Re:Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story by Florin_Andrei on Monday August 24, 2020 @03:25PM (#24264414)

> the full anti-covid benefits

The alleged anti-covid benefits.

There's been no causal relation established so far.

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