Posted on 08/21/2021 10:33:39 AM PDT by Signalman
New studies conclude that vitamin D can reduce your risk of developing COVID-19 as well as decrease the severity of the illness.
Experts say vitamin D boosts the immune system, which can help fight off ailments such as COVID-19.
The best way to get vitamin D is through sunshine and healthy meals, but supplements can also be used. All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vitamin D is a well-known immune booster.
Now, a series of recently published studies say the supplement can also protect you from contracting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that can cause COVID-19. And vitamin D may reduce the severity of illness if you do test positive for COVID-19.
In one studyTrusted Source, University of Chicago Medicine researchers led by Dr, David Meltzer, the university’s chief of hospital medicine, found a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and risk of developing COVID-19.
The researchers studied 489 patients at the hospital and observed that those with a vitamin D deficiency (defined as less than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood) were almost twice as likely (1.77 times higher) to test positive for the novel coronavirus than those with normal levels of vitamin D.
“These findings appear to support a role of vitamin D status in COVID-19 risk,” the researchers wrote in their retrospective cohort study.
They also called for further clinical studies on the possible link between the vitamin and the disease.
Meltzer told Healthline that he ranked getting adequate vitamin D in the diet “below masks and hygiene” in terms of COVID-19 prevention, but, “I think it should be near the top of everyone’s list.”
“There’s a lot of evidence that we should be taking [vitamin D deficiency] very seriously,” Meltzer said. “If you’re taking a reasonable dose of vitamin D, it’s hard to see how it hurts and it could help a lot.”
“If you’re deficient in vitamin D that does have an impact on your susceptibility to infection,” agreed Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a recent Instagram Live interview with actress Jennifer Garner. “I would not mind recommending and I do it myself, taking vitamin D supplements.”
Vitamin D deficiency is widespread More than 40 percent of the U.S. population is deficient in vitamin D, which can be found in food like salmon and other fatty fish, egg yolks, mushrooms, and foods fortified with the vitamin, such as milk.
Vitamin D requires exposure to sunlight to activate in the body, a unique characteristic of vitamins.
A recent meta-analysis of 40 research studies found that daily, long-term doses of vitamin D seemed to protect against acute respiratory infections. Other studies also have found associations between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 susceptibility.
Notably, a small randomized studyTrusted Source from the University of Grenada in Spain found that of 50 people with COVID-19 treated with calcifediol, a type of vitamin D, one required admission to the ICU, while 13 of 26 untreated people required admission to the ICU.
“Our pilot study demonstrated that administration of a high dose of calcifediol or 25-hydroxyvitamin D… significantly reduced the need for ICU treatment of patients requiring hospitalization due to proven COVID-19,” the study authors concluded.
Dr. Luigi Gennari, an associate professor in the department of medicine, surgery, and neurosciences at the University of Siena in Italy, recently presented data at a meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research showing a possible link between low vitamin D levels and risk of more serious COVID-19 infections.
The Italian researchers said that people who were admitted to the ICU at San Luca Hospital in Milan with severe COVID-19 symptoms had lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and higher levels of interleukin-6 (a protein produced by the body associated with inflammation) than those hospitalized with milder symptoms (non-ICU).
People who died from COVID-19 at the hospital also were more likely to have lower vitamin D levels than those who survived, the study found.
Thanks.
they recommend level ng 40-60 i prefer 50-70
there are us ng/ml levels and european nmol/l levels different
Thanks for the info!
My doctor prescribed that amount for me, once a week. It's an actual script he wrote for me. You should ask your doctor, because too much of anything isn't good.
Use to get every bug that went through my office.
About 10 years ago read a study out of Japan that showed Vitamin D helps ward off viral infections. So started taking D ever winter.
Only got an office bug in the beginning of one winter when I forgot to start taking it.
FDA Warns Mercola for Selling Bogus COVID Treatments — Controversial physician in trouble for claims about vitamin C, vitamin D, and quercetin products
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/91487
In other words... Go Outside!
Mom died in 2006 when I started taking it and haven’t been sick since. Believe me, I’d love to have the flu to drop some weight but no such luck. LOL
“We do D3 and zinc, C, B-12.”
Reasonable, and practical. But we are living in a society of unreasonable, stupid people (remember photo of a woman pouring gas into a plastic bag during a ‘shortage’ scare?). This is how stupid people have evolved.
“Vitamin D deficiency, obesity, and diabetes”
But to be allowed to function in society, EVERYONE should take the vaccine, same dose, no matter which Big Pharma brand. .
Sounds good - the K2 is good for bone health, reduces heart disease risk, lowers diabetes risk, aids in cancer treatment (should it be required) and it helps inhibit calcification and stiffening of the arteries, reducing calcium buildup in blood vessels and soft tissues.
How much zinc are y’all taking?
That’s what my dr. prescribed.
Good article, thanks for posting.
Same with me. Script for 50,000 unit once a week. Get blood work done every 4 months. Last workup was 44.
Truth: you can be religious about keeping your vitamin d above 70 in bloodstream in winter (it takes for me about 5000iu a day for that test result) or during this covid thing, and still get quite ill with covid.
I did. I’m very healthy, work out, eat right. I was great on my supplements, especially D3 k and mag. Still got this thing. 13.5 days after exposure to it.
However, my doc said I could take 10,000 to 20,000 IU a day of d once I was sick, which I did, and only one week did I have the fever and pain. The second week of quarantine I only had weakness and fatigue. It’s still worth taking.
For sure, if you are deficient in d, you will get a much worse case than if you aren’t.
“We take 4,000 units of D3 daily with K2 and zinc.”
Yep that is a reasonable level. Also need to marry D3 with K2 to reduce calcification of arteries - which you are doing.
I was admittedly a bit slow in figuring that part out and was taking larger doses of D3 and then doctor spotted the calcium buildup. Of course the calcium buildup could have been due to food and other factors besides D3.
Nonetheless I’ve now reduced D3 down to 5000 although I’ve read 4000 is the recommended max level.
OTC bottle says 50 mg which the label says is 455% of the daily requirement. Not sick so far. And we’ve been in large crowds multiple times.
I knew this. There were studies back then too!
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