A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE reveals that very low levels of Vitamin D are linked to severe cases of COVID-19. Lead author, Dr. Michael Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology, biophysics, and molecular medicine at Boston University School of Medicine stated that unless people take a healthy dose of Vitamin D through supplements on a daily basis, they may be susceptible to high odds of COVID-19 infection.
Vitamin D can be obtained from the sun when people sun-bathe since the skin naturally manufactures the vitamin when it senses direct sunlight. But it can also be obtained from dietary supplements and certain foods to benefit the body. Given the study that Vitamin D deficiency raises the odds for COVID-19 severity, Dr. Len Horovitz of Lennox Hill Hospital in New York City said this latest study confirms the conclusions drawn by earlier related researches.
Dr. Holick and his team analyzed the blood samples of 235 coronavirus patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and found that patients with high levels of Vitamin D had lower severity for the disease and subsequently at lower risks for loss of consciousness, low blood oxygen, and COVID-19 death.
Talking of death, people with high levels of the vitamin have 51.5% reduced chances of dying from coronavirus, the researchers said. Conversely, high levels of Vitamin D reduce the risks of contracting COVID-19 by 54% according to the published study. Furthermore, high levels of this vitamin protect the body from the flu and upper respiratory tract infections as well as other terrible viruses.
“Because Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is so widespread in children and adults in the United States and worldwide, especially in the winter months, it is prudent for everyone to take a vitamin D supplement to reduce the risk of being infected and having complications from COVID-19,” Holick said.
Holick said the lockdown period would have reduced the levels of Vitamin D in peoples’ bodies since they were not exposed to sunlight which could enable the body to produce the vitamin from the sun. he advised people take “several thousand international units” of Vitamin D each day and to test its blood level through routine blood tests.
Source: webmd.com