Vitamin-D May Protect Your Health during the Pandemic

Although there isn’t enough evidence to recommend using vitamin-D to prevent or treat COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says there’s also insufficient evidence to recommend against using it.

Several studies are underway to investigate the role vitamin-D plays in preventing or treating COVID-19. Rather than waiting for the results of this research, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Time that he recommends taking vitamin-D supplements to potentially protect from COVID-19. Dr. Fauci says, “If you are deficient in vitamin-D, that does have an impact on your susceptibility to infection.” He noted that he takes a vitamin-D supplement to protect his health.

Some research has shown that vitamin-D can help prevent acute respiratory tract infections, although analyses of these studies have been inconsistent. A new observational study published in JAMA Network Open found that people with lower vitamin-D levels are more susceptible to COVID-19. However, many of the known risk factors for COVID-19 are also risk factors for vitamin-D deficiency, so while a correlation was observed, the study did not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Studies are underway to test vitamin-D’s potential to help prevent COVID-19 as well as to examine its effect on those infected with the virus.

Although there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence showing vitamin-D can protect against COVID-19, experts say that increasing intake of vitamin-D can improve health more broadly. The NIH warns that too much vitamin-D can be toxic, potentially causing a build-up of calcium in the blood. The best way to increase vitamin-D levels is to eat more foods containing it, such as mushrooms and fatty fish, and to spend time in sunlight each day. For those who are unable to get enough vitamin-D through food or sunlight, a vitamin-D supplement is a reasonable alternative.