Keep Chronic Inflammation Low for Healthy Ageing

Biohacking is about thinking differently and taking responsibility for our health.

In this post:

1. Keeping chronic inflammation low for healthy ageing.
2. Diabetes could be main factor in accelerated progression of CV19.
3. Light through a window for Circadian Rhythm, but not Vitamin D.
4. Resveratrol works only in the presence of youthful NAD levels.

Being compelled to stay home is making us older, fatter, sicker, physically weaker and mentally less agile. All of this will contribute to an increase in heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, dementia, suicides and cancer. Are lockdowns doing more harm than good?

In this study from Japan, type-2 diabetes was present in 88% of patients progressing from moderate to severe CV19 requiring ventilation.

Around 1.8 million Australians have diabetes. This includes all types of diagnosed diabetes (1.2 million known and registered) as well as silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (up to 500,000 estimated). 280 Australians develop diabetes every day.

Low Vitamin D levels are correlated with higher risk of viral infection and severity of infection, including COVID-19 (source).

Accumulating evidence strongly supports widespread vitamin D supplementation, in particular of high-risk populations, as well as high-dose supplementation of those infected. Test Vitamin D levels at home.

The UVB rays needed to make Vitamin D are blocked by most windows.

Sunscreen can also block UVB radiation. UVB is scarcer in winter. The more equatorial, the greater the potency of the suns rays. The further, the weaker.

Personal UV dose requirements vary greatly.

• Melanin (what darkens skin) is a natural sunscreen. Which is why statistical studies usually find dark skinned populations to be Vitamin D deficient.

• A 70 year old produces 4x less Vitamin D than a 20 year old.

• Body fat reduces the bioavailability of Vitamin D. The more fat you have, the more is stored and not released into the bloodstream.
  
  

• You can make Vitamin D by spending time in direct natural sunlight. While a few minutes exposure each day in summer might be enough, a few hours is needed in winter.

• You can also get small amounts of Vitamin D through foods like oily fish, egg yolk, and offal such as liver. Some foods such as milk are fortified with vitamin D.

• Supplementing Vitamin D in combination with Vitamin K is best. Vitamins D and K act synergistically for bone and cardiovascular health. (source) 4000 IU / Day of Vitamin D3 is sufficient to bring adults up to adequate levels of 75nmol/L.
  
  
• To correct moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency, 3,000 to 4,000 IU per day is needed for 6-12 weeks to raise the level of vitamin D quickly, followed by a maintenance dose of 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day. (source)

• Note that Australian guidelines suggest only a tenth of that dose,  400IU/Day, but does not consider individual deficiency risk factors described below. It's just a lowest common denominator guideline in dire need of an update.

• The safety profile of vitamin D supplementation is similar for doses of 400 or 4000IU. 

 

 

 
Vitamin D3 sources, biosynthesis and possible factors affecting absorption. Downward arrows show factors that are associated with decreased vitamin D absorption and synthesis.
Image source