thevaccinereaction--2020-05-18--Vitamin D Benefits Confirmed by New COVID-19 Research

Vitamin D , the fat-soluble hormone produced in the body when sunlight hits the skin , is responsible not only for bone health but is also believed to help regulate the immune and neuromuscular systems .
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to breast cancer , colon cancer , prostate cancer , heart disease , depression , weight gain and other maladies.1 Research on Vitamin D has exploded in the last ten years , and not only is there a large and growing literature on Vitamin D ’ s role in reducing the risk of acute respiratory infections and reducing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but new research confirms a relationship between vitamin D levels and the respiratory illness believed to be caused by the novel coronavirus SARS CoV-2.3 4 5 6 7 8 9 In a study10 published on May 6 , researchers reviewed data from 20 European countries .
Vitamin D levels are severely low in some aging populations , especially in Spain , Italy and Switzerland , whereas Vitamin D levels were higher in the Nordic countries .
The study found a negative correlation between mean levels of Vitamin D and number of cases of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The authors suggested that Southern European countries have lower levels of vitamin D because of decreased exposure to the sun ( because people prefer the shade ) and darker skin pigmentation , which decreases Vitamin D synthesis .
Northern Europe ’ s levels are better due to the consumption of cod liver oil , vitamin supplements , and Vitamin D fortification of milk and milk products .
Furthermore , they suggested that Vitamin D has a modulating effect on inflammatory cytokines , chemokines , and ACE2 , which protects against lung injury @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducted at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center found the baseline prevalence of Vitamin D insufficiency ( VDI ) among ICU patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit ( ICU ) for any cause is 30 to 40 percent , whereas for patients in ICU units with COVID-19 , 84.6 percent had VDI .
This is in contrast to only 57.1 percent of the COVID-19 patients hospitalized on general floors testing positive for Vitamin D insufficiency .
Strikingly , 100 percent of ICU patients less than 75 years old had Vitamin D insufficiency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ findings also contribute to understanding the racial aspect of health disparities associated with COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality statistics .
VDI is highly prevalent in dark-skinned persons : 82.1 percent of African Americans have Vitamin D insufficiency vs. 41.6 percent in the U.S. general population .
In a retrospective study12 of 212 COVID-19 patients in the Philippines published electronically on April 9 , 2020 , Vitamin D status was significantly associated with severity of COVID-19 .
In the analysis , 85.5 percent of patients with sufficient Vitamin D had mild cases while 72.8 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ D had severe or critical cases .
A retrospective cohort study13 of 780 cases with laboratory-confirmed infection of SARS-CoV-2 in Indonesia revealed that a majority of the death cases were older males with pre-existing conditions and Vitamin D insufficiency .
Patients with Vitamin D insufficiency ( between 20 and 30 ng/ml ) were 12.55 times more likely to die and patients with severe Vitamin D deficiency ( < 20 ng/ml ) were 19.12 times more likely to die than those patients with sufficient levels of Vitamin D. After controlling for age , sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is strongly associated with COVID-19 mortality .
When compared to COVID-19 cases with normal Vitamin D status , death was approximately 10.12 times more likely for Vitamin D deficient cases .
On Apr .
30 , 2020 , researchers at Northwestern University pre-published a study14 of the role of Vitamin D in suppressing cytokine storm and associated mortality in COVID-19 patients .
Researcher Ali Daneshkhah , PhD , said : Vadim Backman , PhD , and lead researcher on the study , says that not only does Vitamin D enhance our innate immune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system from becoming dangerously overactive .
This means that having healthy levels of vitamin D could protect patients against severe complications , including death , from COVID-19 .
“ Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half , ” Backman said .
“ It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus , but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected.
” 15 A research team from the University of Granada in Spain is conducting a ten-week trial of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigate whether the use of vitamin D as an immune modulator agent induces significant improvements of health status and outcomes in non-severe symptomatic patients infected with COVID-19 , as well as prevents COVID-19 health deterioration .
The study is expected to end on June 30 , 2020 .
Many Americans are deficient in Vitamin D Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide in all age groups , but Vitamin D status deteriorates with age due to decreased sun exposure and the body ’ s reduced ability to synthesize Vitamin D @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people institutionalized in medical facilities are severely vitamin D deficient.17 A 2018 study using measurements from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES ) from 2001-2010 found that 28.9 percent of American adults were Vitamin D deficient ( serum 25 ( OH ) D < 20ng/ml ) and an additional 41.1 percent were Vitamin D insufficient ( serum 25 ( OH ) D between 20ng/ml and 30ng/ml ) .
Adults who were obese , physically inactive , smokers , black , less educated , poor and infrequent consumers of milk had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Very few foods contain Vitamin D , but fatty fish , such as salmon , tuna , mackerel and fish liver oils , are among the best sources .
Beef liver , cheese , egg yolks and some mushrooms also may contain small amounts of Vitamin D.19 In the U.S. , some foods like milk are fortified with Vitamin D , and both the U.S. and Canada have mandated fortification of infant formula with Vitamin D. “ The problem is that people simply aren ’ t eating enough of these nutrients , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State University , and co-author of a study20 on nutrients and the immune system : Vitamin D from the sun is free , widely available , and the most natural way to get enough Vitamin D. There are two types of ultraviolet ( UV ) radiation from the sun .
UVA is equally present from dawn to dusk in both summer and winter , whereas UVB radiation , which is the only form of sunlight that produces Vitamin D , varies in strength depending on the height of the sun and are most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that exposure of a third of the skin to mid-day sunlight for 10-30 minutes three times a week in the summer is sufficient for most people.22 Michael Holick , MD , professor at Boston University School of Medicine , who is the author of and advocates for safe sun exposure as a way to maintain good vitamin D levels .
He explains that , “ Exposure to early morning and late afternoon sunlight does not provide any vitamin D but does expose us to UVA radiation which can alter the immune system and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UVB rays can not penetrate through glass , so people who work next to sunny windows are still prone to Vitamin D deficiency.24