Can Vitamin D help protect against Covid 19?

N

Notch7

Joined
15 Sep 2017
Messages
40,633
Reaction score
3,838
Location
Sussex
Country
United Kingdom
Maybe:

In an observational study from three South Asian hospitals, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was much higher among those with severe COVID illness compared with those with mild illness.



Vitamin D is important to innate immunity and boosts immune function against viral diseases.


Vitamin D may be relevant to the respiratory response during COVID-19 and the cytokine storm.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930152

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-patient-dublin-liverpool-study-a9508726.html
 
Sponsored Links
Unfortunately I cannot see the content of those links - however here is one explaining the Vitamin D benefits against the virus.

youtube neither requires you to whitelist them and watch adverts, subscribe to it or allow cookies from it.
 
I don't think there is any evidence that ordinary people, who do not have a vitamin deficiency, have anything to gain by taking more.

Vitamins are like that.

Supplements are useful if you have a deficiency. Not if you don't.

But I've seen gossip suggesting that extra vitamin will protect you.

Observe the second sentence of the youtube vid.

At 1.34 try to read the bottom line (almost out of shot). You will have to enlarge to full screen.

Look for the reference i9n the Harvard summary that says:

"Several observational studies, which track participants over time without assigning a specific treatment, have associated low vitamin D levels with greater susceptibility to acute respiratory infections"
 
JohnD said:
don't think there is any evidence that ordinary people, who do not have a vitamin deficiency, have anything to gain by taking more.
Click to expand...

that would make sense.

the evidence is perhaps suggesting some people who have had CV have vitamin D deficiency, however that doesnt prove that many people have deficiency or that many people would benefit from having more as a protection.

I did think it was interesting though.
 
Sponsored Links
It's interesting to search on the BMJ.

"There are reasons for viewing the headline result cautiously. In absolute terms, the primary result is a reduction from 42% to 40% in the proportion of participants experiencing at least one acute respiratory tract infection. It seems unlikely that the general population would consider a 2% absolute risk reduction sufficient justification to take supplements. Furthermore, the definition of acute respiratory tract infection varied between studies, consisting of a mixture of diverse conditions such as acute otitis media, laboratory confirmed influenza, self reported colds, parent reported colds or chest infections, or radiograph confirmed pneumonia. It is difficult to know whether a reduction in this mixture of conditions is applicable to the general population and how it should be interpreted clinically."

https://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.j456
 
I say this because I think this youtuber is a source of the quack remedy going round.

Obviously people with a vitamin deficiency should address it, regardless of today's pandemic. I understand that in UK today, deficiency of vitamin D is at its most common among people who stay out of sunlight or swathe themselves in light-blocking clothing, and do not have a typical diet. The deficiency displays itself as rickets in children, which is now very uncommon.
 
No harm in taking them but be warned - men in particular are well known for taking too many vitamin pills and getting a serious case of kidney stones. A normal daily dose rather than larger doses which are available for many of them is unlikely to do harm but there are some where too much has complications. Don't think D is one of them.

They can cause problems if some one is regularly taking some form of medication - best ask gp if some one is.
 
For medical reasons, my wife, who avoids excess sunlight, gets her vitamin D fix every day by getting her big floppy sun hat on to keep the sun off her face and sitting out in the sun in jeans - with her sleeves rolled up exposing just her forearms. 15 minutes a day and she says that does for her.
 
ajohn said:
men in particular are well known for taking too many vitamin pills and getting a serious case of kidney stones.
Click to expand...

Don't talk to me about kidney stones John, some years back I had problems with the 'waterworks', went on for a few months, had blood tests which didn't shed too much light but it gradually worsened, I can't say it was painful but it was uncomfortable, it bore down on you all the time and eventually became quite depressing.

One day, I was having my one hundredth small pee of the day, and suddenly, there was an excrutiating pain, followed by a torrent of urine. I saw a dark object on the side of the toilet
pan which I picked out, It was reminiscent of the Rock of Gibraltar. I don't fancy one of them again.
 
fillyboy said:
One day, I was having my one hundredth small pee of the day, and suddenly, there was an excrutiating pain, followed by a torrent of urine. I saw a dark object on the side of the toilet
pan which I picked out, It was reminiscent of the Rock of Gibraltar. I don't fancy one of them again.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of this episode of Seinfeld. :eek:
 
mattylad said:
Unfortunately I cannot see the content of those links - however here is one explaining the Vitamin D benefits against the virus.

youtube neither requires you to whitelist them and watch adverts, subscribe to it or allow cookies from it.
Click to expand...

Indeed, Vit D deficiency is a problem with people of black who live too far north, I wonder if there is any connection between this and higher levels of problems with covid in the black community?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110920100100.htm
 
So in fairness this is not to far from my idea and the thread I started that diet could be the cause why so many ethnic people have died from CV.
 
Bodd said:
So in fairness this is not to far from my idea and the thread I started that diet could be the cause why so many ethnic people have died from CV.
Click to expand...
I think proportionally more ethnic people have died of CV because (a) proportionally more work in the service industry and (b) Ethnic people tend to have proportionally more generations living in the same household.
 
There are two significant contributory factors (and obviously not the only factors) as to why more people of an ethnic background have died in the UK.

1. People with darker skin absorb proportionally less vitamin D and are known to be prone to be Vitamin D deficient when living in a country with less sunlight than their heritage had evolved to protect them from.
2. People with darker skin are statistically more likely to be overweight. I do not wish to speculate on the reasons for that.

Doctors are beginning to realise that obesity has a massive impact on the severity of the disease.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sponsored Links
Back
Top