Israeli researchers say they have uncovered significant evidence that increased Vitamin D levels can help COVID-19 patients reduce their risk of severe illness or death.
In a newly peer-review study, researchers say that Vitamin D has a very strong impact on disease severity, so much so that they can accurately predict how people would fare based on nothing more than their age and the Vitamin D intake. The team stated that Vitamin D deficiency can greatly increase your risk of developing severe symptoms if you were to contract COVID-19.
Researchers came to this conclusion after carefully studying Israel’s two waves of the virus, before the vaccines was readily available. Vitamin D deficiency is especially problematic in Israel, where nearly 80 percent of individuals have low Vitamin D intake. And while Vitamin D supplementation was no substitute for the vaccine, researchers found that increasing Vitamin D intake could help patients avoid the worst effects of the disease.
“We found it remarkable, and striking, to see the difference in the chances of becoming a severe patient when you are lacking in Vitamin D compared to when you’re not,” said Dr. Amiel Dror, a Galilee Medical Center physician and Bar Ilan researcher who was part of the team behind the study.
Increase Your Vitamin D Intake
Although the study was conducted prior to the Omicron wave, researchers said that at a basic level, the virus doesn’t chance fundamentally enough between variants to negate the effectiveness of Vitamin D.
“What we’re seeing when Vitamin D helps people with COVID infections is a result of its effectiveness in bolstering the immune systems to deal with viral pathogens that attack the respiratory system,” Dr. Dror told The Times of Israel. “This is equally relevant for Omicron as it was for previous variants.”
This research falls in line with a previous publication that found that 26 percent of coronavirus patients died if they were Vitamin D deficient soon before hospitalization, compared to just three percent who had normal levels of Vitamin D. In all, researchers found that patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 who were also Vitamin D deficient were 14 times more likely, on average, to end up in severe or critical condition than others.
“People should learn from this that studies pointing to the importance of taking vitamin D are very reliable, and aren’t based on skewed data,” Dr. Dror added. “And it emphasizes the value of everyone taking a vitamin D supplement during the pandemic, which, consumed in sensible amounts in accordance with official advice, doesn’t have any downside.”
Vitamin D is important for so many bodily functions, and it’s clear that it can also be helpful for our immune system in fighting off foreign invaders. Always make sure to mind your Vitamin D intake, especially if you could be susceptible to severe symptoms in the event you are infected with COVID-19.