Surely you have heard about how important vitamin D is for the correct function of your body is. But do you know why and how much you should get per day or how to improve the intake? And the recently reported connection with Coronavirus infection outcomes?
Vitamin
D is important to keep functional healthy muscles and bones (it has a role in
the regulation of the calcium and phosphate balance), it also supports the
production of antimicrobial peptides in the respiratory tract, reducing
negative outcomes from viral or bacterial infections. Additionally, vitamin D
helps to reduce the inflammatory response to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Vitamin
D interacts with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is the receptor
in the human cells that interacts with SARS-CoV-2 and allows its entry into the
cell. While SARS-CoV-2 downregulates the expression of ACE2, vitamin D promotes
the expression of this gene.
For
respiratory tract infections (like the type that coronaviruses cause), it has
been reported vitamin D supplementation protected against acute respiratory
tract infections and that patients with very low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D
concentrations (a marker of vitamin D status) gained the most benefit. These
results were published in a meta-analysis done with data from 25 clinical
trials, including 11.321 participants.
A
recent article published in The Lancet analyzed how the relative vitamin D status
can influence COVID-19 outcomes. The study emphasizes the importance of Vitamin
D supplementation for older people as they are at high risk of poor outcomes
from COVID-19 and of vitamin D deficiency. In a cross-sectional
analysis across Europe,
COVID-19 mortality was associated with vitamin D status in different
populations, in addition to very strong circumstantial evidence that highlights
this connection. Some countries seem to be exceptions to this “correspondence”:
Spain, Italy and the Nordic countries.
Vitamin
D deficiency is common worldwide. In the US, more than 42% of the population is
vitamin D deficient, and this rate rises to 82% in black people and 70% in
Hispanics. One of the concerns is that the main source of Vitamin D is the
exposure to the sun, which is reduced in wintertime and even more in some
regions and vitamin D intake can be reduced in people with darker skin pigmentation
and/or medical conditions. Dr. Holick, an eminence in Vitamin D research,
recommends 10 minutes of sun exposure per day without sunscreen follow with
sunscreen application because you do not want to increase your risk of getting
skin cancer (melanoma). I strongly recommend you to watch the lecture “The D-Lightful Vitamin D
for Health” by Michael F.
Holick. The best source of Vitamin D is sunlight with 10.000 to 20.000 IU
(international units) of Vitamin D being produced in 30 minutes with whole-body
exposure to sunlight, and the “excess” is stored in your fat. The good news is that
you will never produce too much, the bad news is that you can take too much
vitamin D if you take an overdose of supplements and this can cause serious
intoxication. Some foods high in vitamin D include salmon, tuna fish, sardines,
mackerel, trout, mushrooms, eggs, cod and fortified milk, cereals and juice.
The Endocrinology practice guidelines recommend different Vitamin D daily
intakes depending on your age group:
0-1
years old 400-1000 IU
1-18
years old 600-1000 IU
Over
18 years old 1500-2000 IU
Importantly,
if you are obese you will need 2 to 3 times more! Now, you had probably run to
your vitamin cabinet and checked the label in the supplement bottle, and it
might say “Vitamin D 5 ug” (micrograms), meaning only 200 IU… side note, the
recommendation in the US is 400-800 IU per day.
The
professional advice is to measure your vitamin D blood levels and consult a
doctor about the best way to get and maintain the optimal level of Vitamin D.
References
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(20)30183-2/fulltext
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zK8LgVx2G8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP81YMvs4yI
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