Vitamin D for coronavirus

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Recently, more and more questions have arisen about whether vitamin D can help with coronavirus. Doctors in the UK recommend taking supplements with its content during a pandemic, when we spend less time outdoors.

Why is it important to drink vitamin D with coronavirus

Vitamin D is important for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. Its absence can lead to bone deformities called rickets (in children) and a similar condition of bone weakness called osteomalacia (in adults). There is also speculation that vitamin D boosts the immune system and helps fight infections.

The human body produces vitamin D in the deeper layers of the skin, but this requires solar energy. Therefore, in Russia it is recommended to take one of the forms of this vitamin, that is, vitamin D3, especially in the autumn-winter period, when there is little solar radiation.

Some studies show that adequate vitamin D levels help, for example, with colds and flu. But the research data are inconsistent. D. Rhodes, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Liverpool, says vitamin D is anti-inflammatory.

The UK Nutrition Scientific Advisory Committee is of the opinion that research on vitamin D supplementation for the treatment or prevention of lower respiratory tract infections has not provided sufficient evidence to make its recommendation.

Why is it worth taking vitamin D anyway? Since people spend most of their time at home during a pandemic, some may be deprived of their normal vitamin D intake.

This is due to the fact that our skin absorbs it when exposed to the sun. According to research, people should take vitamin D if they spend a lot of time indoors. Even before the pandemic, it was recommended that supplementation be considered between October and March.

Which vitamin D to choose for the treatment of coronavirus

Before deciding which drug is best to buy for taking, you should study the data on the effectiveness of the drug. The review of studies from different countries does not provide direct evidence for taking vitamin D supplements for the treatment of coronavirus. But many experts believe that eating healthy food during the pandemic could bring more health benefits.

By taking vitamin D in the right doses, you can avoid vitamin D deficiency. Some scientists believe that vitamin D deficiency negatively affects the course of coronavirus infection. But the influence of other factors, including concomitant diseases, cannot be ruled out, therefore such conclusions are not final. In most cases, it was cholecalciferol and other popular forms of the vitamin that were studied.

Researchers in France and Spain are conducting clinical trials to evaluate the effects of vitamin D on patients infected with the coronavirus. Much research needs to be done to better understand the mechanism of action of COVID-19.

Calcifediol is a form of vitamin D3. In October of this year, an interventional study was launched with random selection of participants in the study and control groups, in which 76 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 took part.

Patients received standard therapy: hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, group 1 additionally received an active metabolite of vitamin D - calcifediol. Half of the people in the non-vitamin D group required hospitalization in an intensive care unit, of which 2 died. But out of 50 people who took this vitamin, only 1 patient was admitted to the intensive care unit, and no one in this group died.

In this study, administering high doses of calcifediol to people hospitalized for COVID-19 reduced the risk of being admitted to the ICU. Unfortunately, the concentration of vitamin D in the blood was not tested on admission, so there is no information about whether these patients with coronavirus were deficient in this vitamin.

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It is possible that the groups differed in the severity of vitamin D deficiency in the body, and this affects the reliability of the study results. Yet interest in calcifediol has grown against the background of these results. This made one think about its use against Covid.

What is the connection:

• a metabolite of vitamin D3, which is formed in the liver under physiological conditions, and then turns into the active form of vitamin D in the kidneys and skin;
• acts directly, for example to increase the absorption of calcium from the intestine;
• calcifediol causes a much faster increase in vitamin D concentration and is absorbed by almost 100% compared to the most common cholecalciferol in drugs;
• calcifediol is used according to strictly defined indications - it is dispensed only with a doctor's prescription.

The problem is that calcefediol is not the most affordable form in Russian pharmacies. Therefore, when choosing the form of the drug, you can limit yourself to cholecalciferol or, for reliability, ask your doctor for advice on choosing.

How to use

When deciding which is better to buy vitamin C or D for coronavirus, study their effects. Although vitamin D supplements are safe, taking more than recommended daily can cause side effects. The individual dosage of the vitamin in the case of its appointment as part of therapy for covid should be determined by the doctor. Vitamin C has a proven immunomodulatory effect.

It would be correct if Russians took vitamin complexes that have a tonic effect, and not focus on one of them. The doctors themselves speak of this, because the lack of any of the vitamins and minerals can have a negative effect on various organs and systems, including the immune system.

Vitamin D supplements should be taken primarily during the fall / winter period. Due to the limited ability to leave the house during the coronavirus pandemic, it is worth considering taking vitamin D supplements also during extended indoor stays. If you have the opportunity to spend time outdoors every day, supplements in the spring and summer may not be necessary. According to the official information, adequate synthesis of vitamin D in the skin is possible with 15 minutes of sun exposure every day.

In addition to being produced through the skin, which is the main source of vitamin D, this ingredient can also be found in foods such as oily fish, eggs or yogurt fortified with vitamin D, breakfast cereals, or margarine. A balanced diet is important, but maintaining proper vitamin D levels from foods alone will be difficult.

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Contraindications

All contraindications to vitamin D intake are reduced to the risk of overdose. Given the prevalence of this substance deficiency among residents of various states, it can be concluded that it is almost impossible to get an overdose. To take a sufficient amount of the vitamin for toxic effects, you will have to continue drinking it for a long time and in doses exceeding 10 thousand IU, or for several months at a dose of 60 thousand IU.

Outcomes

1. Various studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of vitamin D3 in coronavirus, but there is no direct evidence of its ability to prevent disease and improve the course of the disease.
2. Scientists are now actively interested in such a form of the vitamin as calcifediol. It has greater bioavailability than its common counterpart, cholecalciferol.
3. Despite a number of encouraging tests, researchers from around the world are of the opinion that this is not enough to conclude that vitamin D is effective in coronavirus.