Vitamin D3 + K2 Supplement Recommendations (importance of sun exposure in mold illness)

Hey all,

Does anyone have a good brand of vitamin D combined with K2 to recommend?
Last year I was on Bio D Mulsion Forte but it doesn't contain vitamin K so I would like to switch to something else. Then there is also a difference between K4 and K7 that is confusing to me.

A few weeks back I started experiencing some of my old symptoms again, bone pain, lower back and pelvic pain, muscle and joint pain, terrible pain around my jaw/below ears, "lymph pain", hair falling out etc. After I started vitamin D drops everything has drastically improved, along with my mood. There is some sort of vicious cycle with mold and low vitamin D. Low vitamin D will make you predisposed to mold illness, and mold will 'devour' vitamin D in your body. I made sure I get as much sun exposure as possible this summer and I can't believe that it took only until early December to completely deplete it. I guess this northern summer just isn't strong enough for me. But then even living in the southern countries with far more sunshine, with modern lifestyle of working for 8 hours indoors, and staying indoors even after that it's hard to get enough sun exposure. Low vitamin D is VERY dangerous, you're at risk of just about anything.

I also believe that the normal serum level in the blood is somewhat individual, in terms of how much is optimal. I believe that low vitamin D brought on my mold illness, and mold illness further lowered my vitamin d. These are all my "re-epiphanies", as low vitamin D was the very first thing detected in my health struggle, but I somehow seem to put the obvious aside.

Researching this last night, I came across this article (again) that highlights the importance of sun exposure in treating mold illness, and the ineffectiveness of other methods in absence of this crucial component. I find this very interesting, as this is not much talked about, mainly everyone insists on binders. It also states that the blue light is an antifungal. All of this makes a lot of sense to me, and seems pretty intuitive.
Googling vitamin d and mold, mostly articles on vitamin d being used as treatment for mold allergies (something I am also struggling with) come up.

At the beginning of my journey in recovering from mold illness, I was very focused on taking binders (such as charcoal and bentonite clay) and natural antifungals, which are commonly recommended for the treatment of mold illness. However, I wasn’t making any progress with my recovery. Finally, I made a significant life change and moved from the Midwest out to Colorado. Once I was in Colorado, I began to spend a lot of time outside, exposed to the sun. Over the course of a couple months, my health has drastically improved. While the dry environment in Colorado has helped me feel better, mold still exists here (to a degree) both indoors and out. Nonetheless, my health has continued to improve. This observation convinced me that the increased sun exposure I’ve been receiving is responsible for the strides I am making in my recovery from mold illness.
Sunlight has quickly become the most important part of my recovery from mold illness. While I am doing several other treatments in conjunction with sunbathing, including using charcoal and clay as binders for mycotoxins and taking colostrum as a natural antifungal agent, I know from two years of experience that these additional treatments are not effective in the absence of sun exposure.

I found this bit about mold being present in Colorado, but the author of the text was recovering nonetheless to be particularly interesting, as I myself was certainly exposed to mold before, but did not get sick from it.

https://www.ascent2health.com/blog/why-i-am-using-sunlight-to-heal-from-mold-illness

I mean here in Wisco we go weeks at a time without seeing hte sun in the winter, plus its dang cold out, way too cold to be sitting in the sun.

Now is a good brand of Vit D and K2

Sports Research is a good brand.

It shot my D3 out of range on the blood work, but in the other direction (upwards).

I was taking a lot though, but it proved that it worked.

https://www.amazon.com/vitamin-organic-absorption-certified-softgels/dp/b07255mprn

A word about Vitamin D:

Non Rx Vit D comes from 2 sources - lanolin (sheep’s wool oil) or lichen.

I tested positive for an allergy to lanolin years ago and avoided lichen due to CIRS. Thus, I have remained on Rx Vit D at a less frequent dosage.

This is one explanation I read about lichen online (quote in italics): Lichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga. The dominant partner is the fungus, which gives the lichen the majority of its characteristics, from its thallus shape to its fruiting bodies. The alga can be either a green alga or a blue-green alga, otherwise known as cyanobacteria. Many lichens will have both types of algae.

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are another source of CIRS. This is also the reason my CIRS doctor advised me to avoid spirulina.

I don’t pretend to know unequivocally if taking a lichen based Vit D will trigger CIRS inflammatory response, but it seems like something that should be considered.

I read the article. My CIRS doctor told me to spend time outdoors and in the sun for mold treatment. I have spent most daylight hours outside or in the car for the past 3 years. It did not help me recover from mold illness or increase my Vit D levels. My D levels dropped as I got slack with taking the supplements.

I also had much better increase in D when I was drinking Silk Almond milk daily in addition to regular doses of the Vit D Rx much more so than the Rx alone. I can’t remember the type or source of Vit D in the almond milk, but I don’t knowingly have adverse reactions to it. That said, I am not sure that almond milk makes me feel good, so I only drink it now when I take the Vit D, as calcium is needed with the D.

Post Edited (WalkingbyFaith) : 12/22/2019 7:14:16 AM (GMT-7)

Zimica I was taking 50,000 and then lowered it to 20,000

WBF, it is interesting how spending time outdoors did not increase your vitamin D levels for you. I am having this issue that my vit D levels drop significantly as we approach winter no matter how much exposure I get during the summer, mold has to have something to do with that. Truth to be told, the sun isn't exactly strong here (at least most of the time). Sunlight is the main and the best source of vitamin D (you can't get vitamin d toxicity from it), and incomparable to food sources. It is an essential vitamin and it's really more like a hormone, it's made from cholesterol in our skin when it's exposed to the sun (how are your cholesterol levels?).
You wouldn't be able to get vitamin D from exposure in your car unless it's a convertible as UVB rays shouldn't cross the glass barrier I think.

I didn't test this time, but my levels were probably again dangerously low. I had terrible symptoms some of which I mentioned in the first post. It's unbelievable how much better I feel after supplementing. It is so bad that in my case it doesn't even matter if a substance in a supplement is a potential source of CIRS, I just have to get my levels up.
If you live in a place where summers are hot and long you might not have any of these issues. If the sun is blazing I guess just by going about your day you'll get enough exposure. I don't think that the sun exposure alone is enough to cure mold illness, but I feel that just taking binders helps me "manage my illness", feel fairly normal at times, then worse and so on, I am starting to see that there will be no real healing for me unless I move to a really sunny dry place. I don't know how to put it, but my system needs a 'reboot', and I can't get a reboot with an ongoing sensitivity due to ongoing irritants. I seem to do ok around chemicals now (except I hate synthetic smells), but after a short walk in the forest instead of feeling invigorated, I come home 'drunk', sleepy, brain fogged, fatigued.

I also find it interesting that she claims in the article that exposing the eye to the UV light stimulates MSH production, and that sunglasses shouldn't be worn. I always wear sunglasses, it's a habit I developed with the serious light sensitivity I used to have. I stopped wearing them now, it takes some getting used to.

I agree that there can't be just one factor of Colorado being sunny that aided her healing. It's like saying drink kefir, people in Caucasus mountains drink it and live for 100 years. Well yes, it's healthy for sure, but they also live at a high altitude, the air is clean, the soil and water are unpolluted, they don't have sedentary lifestyle, their animals graze on organic grass etc etc. But I do believe sun is the factor of major importance in healing mold illness.
Unfortunately, sometimes people are so sick that they actually cannot stand the sun, which was my case two years ago.

Zimica,

I noticed you said - after a short walk in the forest instead of feeling invigorated, I come home 'drunk', sleepy, brain fogged, fatigued.

- I am pretty sure many fungi grow on the forest floor. You may be getting exposed to lots of mycotoxins or other biotoxins in the forest, causing those symptoms.

Yeah, I thought that was interesting about MSH and light in the eyes. I wear sunglasses, too, as I have always had light sensitivity. Not wearing sunglasses, especially in months when the sun is closer, will make me sneeze and get an instant headache.