Fight COVID-19 with Vitamin D

Like everyone else in the world, I am concerned with protecting myself against COVID-19. As a Holistic Health Practitioner, what immediately jumped to my mind was practicing healthy lifestyle habits that would preserve my current health and boost my body’s immunity system. Under quarantine since March, and working full-time from home, I had the luxury of extra time that had been previously spent on commuting. I made it a point to get out and walk everyday, and preferably when the sun was shining. I remembered my chiropractor instructing me a few years ago to expose as much skin as possible in full sun to enable my body to fight off my cold more quickly.

Turns out my instincts were spot on! If you’ve read recent news coverage about the President’s treatment protocol for COVID-19, you’ll find that Vitamin D is included (Gallagher, 2020). President Trump received what was described as an experimental treatment. However, it’s no surprise that Vitamin D is included in it. Prietl, Trieber, Pieber, and Amrein (2013) reported “that several studies performed over the last 40 years support the role of vitamin D in the prevention of autoimmune diseases but that there is still a lack of randomized controlled clinical trials in this field.” Their research is now seven years old and more research has been completed since then. This connection is important because for severe COVID-19 cases, the body is often attacking itself just like other autoimmune diseases.

Recently while browsing YouTube, a video title caught my eye, “Vitamin D, First Clinical Trial.” In the background of the video was a big sign that said “STOP COVID-19.” Of course being the health “junky” that I am, I settled in to watch the 27 minutes and 42 seconds video of Dr. John Campbell (2020) discussing the role of Vitamin D in fighting COVID-19 and the recent research that had been done.
The study leveraged existing health data from 2019 that had been collected for different purposes but was now viable to look at the role that Vitamin D might be playing with COVID-19 infections and severity of symptoms. Meltzer et al. (2020) reported: “In this cohort study of 489 patients who had a vitamin D level measured in the year before COVID-19 testing, the relative risk of testing positive for COVID-19 was 1.77 times greater for patients with likely deficient vitamin D status compared with patients with likely sufficient vitamin D status, a difference that was statistically significant.”

For you non-research types reading this, a difference that was statistically significant means that Vitamin D could lower the risk of COVID-19 infection for some individuals. Therefore, it is worth considering your body’s current status in regard to Vitamin D. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2020) reports: “Many people may not be meeting the minimum requirement for the vitamin.” Lab work can be done to measure Vitamin D.

Using myself as an example, my Doctor diagnosed that I had insufficient Vitamin D levels years ago and recommended that I start taking a supplement. I really can’t say I’m surprised (knowing what I do now) because I work indoors 8-10 hours per day, in a place that has no outdoor amenities to enjoy sun exposure. I’m also fair-skinned and have religiously applied sunscreen since my teenage years, which prevents the body from creating it’s own Vitamin D. My mother also has been diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency for similar reasons - indoors most of the time and very fair skin.

However, there are many reasons that can lead to a Vitamin D deficiency. It is best to consult with your medical practitioner. They will be able to diagnose a deficiency if it exists and make recommendations regarding possible treatments.

Until next time, take care of yourself and my best wishes for your continued health!
References

• Campbell, J. (2020). Vitamin D, First clinical trial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=V8Ks9fUh2k8
• Gallagher, J. (2020). BBC News. Dexamethasone, remdesivir, Regeneron: Trump's Covid treatment explained. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54418464
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2020). Vitamin D. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ nutritionsource/vitamin-d/
• Meltzer, D.O., Best, T.J., Zhang, H., Vokes, T., Arora, V., & Solway, J. (2020). Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(9):e2019722. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.19722
• Prietl, B., Treiber, G., Pieber, T. R., & Amrein, K. (2013). Vitamin D and immune function. Nutrients, 5(7), 2502–2521. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu5072502