Many researchers have been looking at correlation between Vitamin D and Coronavirus. Even US President Donald Trump was also given the supplement after he got infected by the SARS-CoV-2. Now, the UCSF Fresno researchers are conducting a study to find out how effective Vitamin D is against the novel virus.
As there are still some denials about the helpful effects of Vitamin D against COVID -19, it has become important to find out the truth. But like other researchers, a rheumatologist at UCSF Fresno, Dr. Anna Kazaryan said that she noticed a potential connection between Vitamin D and the novel Coronavirus.
According to her, it was noticed that the lower levels of Vitamin D correlate with increased risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 and also "correlates with the disease severity."
Research Findings
Karzaryan started testing the connection through a study in the month of May this year by looking at the Vitamin D levels of the Coronavirus infected patients and the severity of the disease.
She said among 200 patients (approximately), in the first phase of the study 70 to 80 percent of patients with low Vitamin D levels have ended up in the ICU As per Karzaryan, it is very unusual to see this many Vitamin D deficiencies in the patient population. "Almost everyone is low...there is insufficiency and deficiency, depending on the levels," she added.
A second phase of the study is about to start that will focus on treatment. Kazaryan advised people to get some sunlight--a natural source of Vitamin D--or eat Vitamin D-rich food or take some supplements—to avoid low levels of Vitamin D in the body. However, the expert also warned against Vitamin D toxicity and said that "it is great when it [Vitamin D] is at a normal level, but too much can cause a lot of problems." She also advised people to check with their doctors to know how much Vitamin D they need.
Vitamin D Is Best Option
Recently Dr. Michael Holick, professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine, and his colleagues studied blood samples from an American clinical laboratory, Quest Diagnostics, of over 190,000 Americans from all 50 states.
As per their findings, people who had deficient levels of Vitamin D had 54 percent higher Coronavirus positivity compared to those with adequate levels of Vitamin D in the blood. The researchers also noticed that the risk of getting Coronavirus infection continues to decline as Vitamin D levels increased. However. Holick said, "The higher your Vitamin D status, the lower was your risk."
