Why Vitamin D Is Essential For Survival – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 285
There’s been a huge amount of research on Vitamin D coming out over the past several decades, but recently research is booming. Here’s why.
Tag: vitamin D
The Cold Weather Nutrient Support You Need – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 267
What is it about cold weather that makes us more susceptible to coming down with the common cold? Let’s ensure your immune system is ready to fend off anything that can cause damage, especially during the winter.
COVID-19 Research Recommends Vitamin D Supplementation – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 251
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Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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Vitamin D affects many aspects of our immune system and resistance to infection, including COVID-19 and all other viruses. For Vitamin D to work, it has to be activated. Many immune system cells can activate Vitamin D. That’s an important finding. At one point, we thought only our kidneys could activate Vitamin D. Now we know that our T-cells, which trigger antibody responses, can actually convert Vitamin D into its active form. This shows how important this vitamin is to immunity.†
Vitamin D is needed to activate immune system cells, but also to control the immune system so it attacks the virus and doesn’t cause collateral damage to us. The damage to our body connected to COVID-19 comes from the cytokine storm, which represents out of control immune system activity leading to harm. Usually this battle is fought in our lungs and can cause severe lung damage or even death. Zinc can also help suppress dangerous immune system functions like this.†
New Findings: COVID-19 and Zinc – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 248. Listen Now >>
Research on Vitamin D and COVID-19
Here’s a study from the Angers University Hospital in France, published recently in the journal Nutrients. Elderly patients who previously had been taking Vitamin D3 supplements, which usually works better than Vitamin D2, are more likely to survive COVID-19, but a single standard dose of 80,000 units of Vitamin D3 after you’ve been infected is probably too late to have its protective effects generated.†
There’s a very fast-building archive of studies linked to Vitamin D deficiencies and more severe COVID-19 symptoms. There’s been inverse associations found in European countries between the level of Vitamin D in your blood and the number of COVID-19 cases, as well as with mortality. They’re finding a strong connection; if you lack this vitamin, you’re more likely to get COVID-19. The COVID-19 is more likely to be serious and with deadly consequences.†
The hospital in Angers, France wanted to see if Vitamin D, when taken regularly before you had COVID-19 or taken in a large dose after you developed COVID-19, had benefits to it. These studies were done in 77 frail, elderly COVID-19 patients aged between 78 and 100 years old. About half of these patients were women. They were hospitalized in the geriatric acute care unit of the hospital. The researchers found that, in the elderly patients who experienced severe COVID-19, Vitamin D supplementation taken on a regular basis before they got sick was strongly associated with less severe COVID-19 and better survival. But if they gave them an 80,000 unit capsule after the diagnosis, it didn’t improve their outcome, so Vitamin D is something you have to take on a daily basis.†
Traveling Soon? You Need These Supplements To Stay Healthy – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 231. Listen Now >>
Many studies are finding that, if you take Vitamin D on a regular basis, you have a reduced risk of respiratory tract infections in general. In fact, there was a meta-analysis showing that, where they took many studies and found that Vitamin D helps prevent respiratory tract infections, which can include anything from the flu to a cold to COVID-19, but also helps prevent pneumonia and helps prevent the severe consequences of these infections.†
Here’s a study from AZ Delta Hospital in Belgium. A Vitamin D deficiency on admission to the hospital was associated with 370% increased odds of dying from COVID-19. They found that nearly 60% of the patients with COVID-19 were Vitamin D deficient upon hospitalization. Men in the advanced stages of COVID-19 pneumonia showed the greatest deficit. Why should that happen? Women are treated for bone loss before and after menopause, so they’re getting Vitamin D. In general, there tends to be fewer women with very deficient Vitamin D compared to men. They looked at all these other comorbidities like obesity, diabetes and lung diseases and they found that it really is the Vitamin D. They go on to explain that numerous observational studies have shown that low VItamin D levels are a major predictor for poor COVID outcomes.†
Tune into the full podcast episode for more research on the relationship between Vitamin D and COVID-19.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
What Science Says About Vitamin D & Cancer Survival – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 236
More research shows that having a good level of Vitamin D in the blood or taking a Vitamin D supplement helps cancer survival.
The Overlooked Impact of Vitamin D To Overall Health – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 230
Many people think of Vitamin D simply for bone health without really understanding all it does to maintain our overall health and wellness.
New Study: Positive COVID-19 Rates Associated with Low Vitamin D Levels
Written by Antonia Brogna
Nutritional Copy Writer, InVite® Health
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Some researchers are noting that Vitamin D levels can play an important role when it comes to COVID-19.
A new study completed by Quest Diagnostics and Boston University, published in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests that people with insufficient levels of Vitamin D are more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2, which is the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In fact, these researchers found that people with a Vitamin D level below 20 ng/mL (considered the benchmark for deficiency) had a 54% higher chance of testing positive for the virus than people with sufficient levels of the nutrient.
This is not the first time that scientists have linked low levels of this vitamin to COVID-19, but this data is helping shed more light on the topic.
“Our findings provide further rationale to explore the role of vitamin D supplementation in reducing the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease,” the researchers wrote in their study. “If controlled trials find this relationship to be causative, the implications are vast and would present a cheap, readily-available method for helping prevent infection, especially for those with vitamin D deficiency. In the interim, the authors recommend responsible vitamin D supplementation based on personal needs, risk factors, and from personal physicians in accordance with existing Endocrine Society Guidelines.”
More Information on Vitamin D
Vitamin D, often called the sunshine vitamin, helps regulate nutrients such as calcium and phosphate, which are needed to ensure the health of the bones, teeth, and muscles. It is typically formed through a chemical reaction that takes place between the sun’s UV rays and the cholesterol on the skin, but approximately 70% of people living in North America are actually deficient in the vitamin. According to numerous studies, low Vitamin D levels can cause depression, bone and back aches, bone and hair loss, and frequent infections.†
Raising your Vitamin D levels can be as easy as making some changes to your daily routine. For instance, levels in the body can be increased by spending time in the sun with at least 40% of your body exposed to the UV rays. It can also be increased by eating fatty fishes and seafood, as well as mushrooms.
But for people who are trying those options and not seeing results, or are already so low in Vitamin D levels that they need an additional boost, supplementation may be a good option. These supplements are often relatively affordable and readily available, as the researchers stated in the paper. Speak with your doctor to have your Vitamin B blood levels tested and a certified healthcare professional on how to get started with supplementing with Vitamin D.†
VITAMIN D INFORMATION FROM CHIEF SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, JERRY HICKEY, PH.
Studies also show that Vitamin D plays a role in lung health and overall immune health, as Chief Scientific Officer Jerry Hickey, Ph., said in his podcast episode, ‘Update: Vitamin D, Lung Health & The Coronavirus.‘
“Vitamin D literally unites your immune system and mounts a better defense against infections,” he said. “It also helps your immune system work in a more balanced way, making it very important during cough and cold season and in the protection of your lungs.” He also said that Vitamin D “helps the immune system work appropriately so it is a strong enough fight against the infection, allowing just enough defense to protect you, while preventing the immune system from becoming out of control.” Jerry provided his own recommendations for listeners as well. “You want to get your Vitamin D levels above 35,” he said. “I would recommend taking about 6,000 units every day with food for seven days. After that, you can go down to 3,000 units a day. This should get you up to a nice sweet level pretty quickly.”
You can find the full study by clicking here or visiting https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239252.
For more information about Coronavirus, as well as other nutrients that can benefit your immune system, make sure to tune into the InVite® Health podcast, available anytime on our website.