My vitamin D requirements have doubled as I improved my health, lowered my A1C and lost weight, why is that the case?

[granger]

more fat = more cholesterol, more cholesterol= more vitamin D? or perhaps the enzymes used to break down extra cholesterol/lipids get used up when your liver is fattier so unable to break down/excrete D?

yea most men shouldnt take iron and its un needed and harmful, potent oxidant you will see high quality mens vitamins not have iron... i have uber high ferratin so stay far away from it.

on a side note about vitamin D, it seems to cause pain in my kidney, had a kidney stone then stopped the greens powder protein and vitamin D, then seems like if i take vitamin D for a day or 2 will get faint pangs on teh same kidney.. so great idea you check your D levels i should be doing the same! dont want extra calcium depositing in your arteries or kidneys vitamin K or not... vitamin D is a potent hormvitamin! amazing you can FEEL vitamin D levels..

EDIT: welp prob wrong on that ! however prob need to look deeper like vitamin D and covid, mostly showed a relationship because old sedentary people have poor health along with low vitamin D ie more of a marker than cause. ie sickest people have low vitamin D but might not be sick because of low vitamin D if that makes sense. Vitamin D and Cholesterol: What's the Relationship

 

[Systemlord]

more fat = more cholesterol, more cholesterol= more vitamin D? or perhaps the enzymes used to break down extra cholesterol/lipids get used up when your liver is fattier so unable to break down/excrete D?

I thought about that, but my experience since dropping the iron tells me differently. Since stopping the iron supplements, I’m starting to urinate more normally, and on iron supplements it seems like my urination was slowed and restrained.

I think the reason I couldn’t tolerate more vitamin D was because I was taking iron supplements, when I shouldn’t have been and since vitamin D regulates iron homeostasis, uptake of iron is altered, and so it’s not hard to understand why more vitamin D produced negative symptoms even though my levels were on the lower end of normal.

I think this is the reason why I couldn’t tolerate vitamin D supplement even below normal doses. I’m going to experiment by taking more vitamin D as my iron levels decline

 

[Systemlord]

I continue to make significant improvements in how I feel every single morning since stopping the iron supplements. I have more energy, more erections, and a higher mental clarity!

At the rate things are improving, in a couple of weeks I'll be in new territory as far as how I feel. The entire time spent while on Jatenzo was supplementing iron when I didn't even need it.

I can't imagine what awaits me in the coming weeks, perhaps benefits I've never felt yet on TRT.

 

[Systemlord]

My hemoglobin is now 17.6 down from 19.3 and hematocrit 53% down from 58% three weeks after stopping the iron supplements. I got a phlebotomy today with hemoglobin at 17.6 and feel better afterwards.

I imagine I'm somewhere in the 15 range. I feel better mentally, it feels good!

My erections are better too!

My blood pressure before the phlebotomy was 120/65! After blood pressure was 120/64.

 

[Systemlord]

New update, my vitamin D requirements have increased exponentially since stopping iron supplements 4 weeks ago.

If I take 1000 IU, I wake up in the morning hours feeling horrible and I have red bruises all over my shins, with yellow colored skin in the surrounding areas.

The moment I take more vitamin D supplement, I feel better almost immediately, red bruises, and yelling skin disappears a couple of days later.

I took 1600 IU today, no issues!

I can now handle bigger doses of vitamin D for the first time without issue. I know I need to not go above 60, as levels in the 70-100’s triggered vitamin D toxicity a few years ago.

Things I’ve noticed, my muscles look fuller, my workouts are better and I can do way more sets and it’s more difficult to reach failure.

I did 25 sets, 15 reps of bicep curls today at a 45° angle, starting at 20 lbs than finishing at 30 lbs. I could easily have kept going but I had to move on to other workouts.

The symptoms from taking the iron supplement's are still present, but are minor. The most notable symptom is the heart flutters and palpitations, especially at it after eating something with a lot of iron in it.

 

[Systemlord]

I can now handle 5000+ IU D3 without side effects. I find 4200 IU to not be enough! I’m currently taking 5000+ IU and feel I need a little more.

One to two weeks after stopping the iron supplementation, I could barely handle 1200 IU!

Update: I’m now tolerating 10,000 IU vitamin D3. Clearly 5000 IU wasn’t enough.

OMG, my erections today!!!

 

[Systemlord]

I did another blood donation last Friday (ferritin 131) and within hours I was getting symptoms of excess vitamin D and had been taking 10,000 IU for 2 week without feeling any effects of vitamin D.

The symptoms of high iron are still present only half as much as they were when my ferritin was 131, now my ferritin is 78.

I feel so much better with my ferritin 78 versus 131, but there’s still room for improvement. The palpitations and shortness of breath aren’t nearly as bad when working out with my ferritin at 78, both of these symptoms were worse with ferritin at 131 and far worse with ferritin at 222!!

I have come to the conclusion I require a lower ferritin level on TRT. If I refrain from eating foods with iron in it, I feel very good, but if I eat a chicken breast, I get mild symptoms of excess iron right after eating and if I eat a ribeye steak, same symptoms if I take iron supplements only mild in comparison.

Now I can’t handle any vitamin D dose higher than 3000 IU and I seem to be getting the effects of vitamin D again.

My vitamin D level a few days ago was 33.

 

[Mastodont]

I did another blood donation last Friday (ferritin 131) and within hours I was getting symptoms of excess vitamin D and had been taking 10,000 IU for 2 week without feeling any effects of vitamin D.

The symptoms of high iron are still present only half as much as they were when my ferritin was 131, now my ferritin is 78.

I feel so much better with my ferritin 78 versus 131, but there’s still room for improvement. The palpitations and shortness of breath aren’t nearly as bad when working out with my ferritin at 78, both of these symptoms were worse with ferritin at 131 and far worse with ferritin at 222!!

I have come to the conclusion I require a lower ferritin level on TRT. If I refrain from eating foods with iron in it, I feel very good, but if I eat a chicken breast, I get mild symptoms of excess iron right after eating and if I eat a ribeye steak, same symptoms if I take iron supplements only mild in comparison.

Now I can’t handle any vitamin D dose higher than 3000 IU and I seem to be getting the effects of vitamin D again.

My vitamin D level a few days ago was 33.

do you notice any difference if you include coffee or dairy products in your iron-rich meals?

 

[Systemlord]

do you notice any difference if you include coffee or dairy products in your iron-rich meals?

I don’t consume coffee or dairy products. I consume mostly meat and water, the exception is 9 ounces of orange juice every morning.

 

[Gman86]

I don’t consume coffee or dairy products. I consume mostly meat and water, the exception is 9 ounces of orange juice every morning.

Jc, what’s the specific reasoning for the 9 ounces of OJ every morning? OJ is obv fckn delicious, so what’s ur reasoning apart from that, if there is any

 

[Mastodont]

Jc, what’s the specific reasoning for the 9 ounces of OJ every morning? OJ is obv fckn delicious, so what’s ur reasoning apart from that, if there is any

You dont Peat? I´d like to know if @Systemlord has monitored blood glucose after the OJ? Ray Peat i guess was known to down a lot more at once.

 

[Gman86]

You dont Peat? I´d like to know if @Systemlord has monitored blood glucose after the OJ? Ray Peat i guess was known to down a lot more at once.

Haha I guess I don’t lol. Although, I did just buy two different types of organic orange juice from Whole Foods a couple days ago. But that was only because I started using methylene blue, and people were saying to drink it down with some OJ.

So what was Ray Peat’s rationale for being such an OJ advocate? Like what in it specifically made him apparently drink so much of it?

 

[Systemlord]

Jc, what’s the specific reasoning for the 9 ounces of OJ every morning? OJ is obv fckn delicious, so what’s ur reasoning apart from that, if there is any

It’s quite the pain I have to measure it exactly in a measuring cup. If I take 8 ounces I feel like shit mentally and physically all day, if I take 9 ounces I feel amazing all day and if I take more than 9 ounces I overdose and have side effects from it.

For the record, I hate orange juice. It’s bitter!! I’ve looked for drops and gummy‘s, but the gummy‘s have added sugar in it.

I would give anything to be able to have a supplement that’s 95 mg of vitamin C!

 

[Gman86]

It’s quite the pain I have to measure it exactly in a measuring cup. If I take 8 ounces I feel like shit mentally and physically all day, if I take 9 ounces I feel amazing all day and if I take more than 9 ounces I overdose and have side effects from it.

For the record, I hate orange juice. It’s bitter!! I’ve looked for drops and gummy‘s, but the gummy‘s have added sugar in it.

I would give anything to be able to have a supplement that’s 95 mg of vitamin C!

Bitter?? Cranberry juice is bitter. Orange juice is fckn delicious! Just grabbed some at Whole Foods, and me and my girl can’t stop drinking it. So good. Also grabbed a regular orange juice from Whole Foods that I’ll open after this one is done (opposed to this blood orange one). But man, could drink this all day everyday. So good

So ray peat basically recommended it for the whole foods source of vitamin c mostly?

 

[Systemlord]

Last night at work, I started experiencing all two familiar symptoms of vitamin D toxicity taking 3000 IU D3! A lot of weird symptoms including sharp intense bone pain in hands, feeling high and pain in my abdomen.

Nine days ago my vitamin D levels was 33.

I’m taking 600 mg of magnesium glycinate and 125 mcg vitamin K. I discovered a magnesium deficiency nine days ago.

I was taking fistfuls of magnesium for the first couple of days. I had crazy muscle spasms during my workouts starting several weeks ago.

That’s the real reason for my low vitamin, not the iron.

 

[Systemlord]

Bitter?? Cranberry juice is bitter. Orange juice is fckn delicious! Just grabbed some at Whole Foods, and me and my girl can’t stop drinking it. So good. Also grabbed a regular orange juice from Whole Foods that I’ll open after this one is done (opposed to this blood orange one). But man, could drink this all day everyday. So good

So ray peat basically recommended it for the whole foods source of vitamin c mostly?

I guess I need to switch to an organic orange juice. I need to get away from the Tropicana brand.

How much sugar is in this brand?

 

[Gman86]

I guess I need to switch to an organic orange juice. I need to get away from the Tropicana brand.

How much sugar is in this brand?

It’s literally just pure orange juice. No other ingredients. So basically the same amount of sugar if u were to juice the oranges urself and just get pure orange juice, without any pulp or seeds

 

[Systemlord]

It’s literally just pure orange juice. No other ingredients. So basically the same amount of sugar if u were to juice the oranges urself and just get pure orange juice, without any pulp or seeds

I wish they could pull the sugar out of orange juice! This may or may not be preventing me from entering ketosis.

 

[Gman86]

I wish they could pull the sugar out of orange juice!

I hear ya brotha, I really do lol

 

[Jim Marlowe]

I have found it much easier to control Vitamin D with a UVB lamp rather than supplements. That would be the Sperti Vit D lamp. Alternatively you could build your own.