Vitamin D and Its Effects on Coronavirus Severity

As COVID-19 rises around the nation, many continue to seek ways to build immunity. Can vitamin D help decrease severity of symptoms?

The virus known as COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has ripped through the world in just one year and many places are currently seeing the largest rates of infection since the beginning of the pandemic. As doctors and researchers learn more about the disease and its effects, there are also many studies being conducted and under review regarding immunity boosting nutrients or vitamins. Limited studies have been produced but some are linking benefits of vitamin D to coronavirus severity.

Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an important nutrient the human body needs to function in a healthy way. According to Medical News Today, “Vitamin D is essential for several reasons, including maintaining healthy bones and teeth. It may also protect against a range of diseases and conditions, such as type 1 diabetes. Despite its name, vitamin D is not a vitamin, but a prohormone, or precursor of a hormone. Vitamins are nutrients that the body cannot create, and so a person must consume them in the diet. However, the body can produce vitamin D”. Vitamin D can also help boost immunity and help in fighting disease. Vitamin D can be absorbed through the skin when a person gets adequate sunlight, approximately 10-15 minutes a day. Many people, especially those in colder climates and long winters, are at risk for vitamin D deficiency as they do not get out in the sunlight enough in the cold months. Likewise, those who work indoors or work night shifts are also at risk for having too little vitamin D in their body. General recommendations for vitamin D dosage for children and adults is 600 IU, or 15 mcg. Those who do not get enough or close to recommended doses are at a greater risk in general for infection or disease. (retrieved from Medical News Today).

Vitamin D and Coronavirus

Several studies have been conducted over the past year regarding the supplementation of vitamin D and it’s correlation to coronavirus severity. According to Healthline, recent scientific research has concluded that vitamin D supplementation might protect against respiratory infections, especially in people who were already deficient in vitamin D to begin with. Keeping sufficient vitamin D levels in the body has been shown to potentially help aid in preventing serious complications or fatalities. Furthermore, Medical News reports that studies showed a reduction in effects of the cytokine storm, which is the escalated inflammatory response that occurs in some individuals with the coronavirus. “Additional data suggests that vitamin D may reduce some of the unfavorable downstream immunological responses to COVID-19 that are associated with severe manifestations through the disease. Some of these downstream pathways that vitamin D may be involved in include preventing the rise of interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels and delaying the interferon-gamma response”. (retrieved from Medical News). The Mayo Clinic also reports similar findings, showing that of those who had serious complications, vitamin D showed to help. In a small, randomized study of 50 participants given a high dose of a type of vitamin D (calcifediol), only one needed to be treated in the ICU. They had 26 patients who were not given the vitamin D, and 13 of the 26 participants needed to be treated in the ICU (retrieved from The Mayo Clinic).

Conclusion

Although supplementation with vitamin D is not proven to either prevent or treat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), there have been a number of positive findings that support vitamin D as a helpful immune boosting nutrient. These findings are in line with what has been supportive evidence in favor of vitamin D and its immune support against other viruses and infections. Most people can benefit from vitamin D supplementation and from eating immune boosting foods. To see our blog on best foods to boost immunity, click here. The best ways to prevent contracting the novel coronavirus remain social distancing, avoiding indoor gatherings, wearing a mask when in public and washing hands regularly. Eating a healthy diet and making sure that the body is getting the daily recommendations of nutrients can help boost immunity and keep the body strong no matter what type of illness or infection.

Air Pollution Could Affect Coronavirus Severity

In new studies published last week, scientists are finding potential links to long term pollution exposure and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.

In new studies published last week, scientists are finding potential links to long term pollution exposure and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms in individuals.

New Study Shows Air Pollution Could Affect Coronavirus Severity

The COVID-19 virus that infiltrated the world almost a year ago has become quite the perplexing disease; as scientists, doctors and other specialists scramble to understand it. There have been many developments made as knowledge increases surrounding COVID-19. Last week, some new studies emerged regarding Coronavirus severity of symptoms and polluted areas around the country. One newly released study from Harvard University released findings that areas with higher pollution levels around the country could be connected to the higher death rates of the Coronavirus. Abcnews.com stated; “According to a nationwide study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, people with COVID-19 who live in areas with high air pollution levels are more likely to die than those who live in less polluted regions.The study looked at 3,080 different counties and looked at the levels of fine particulate air pollution — specifically tiny particles called “particulate matter” — which is generated by fuel combustion from cars, refineries and power plants — and compared it to the risk of death from the Coronavirus in the U.S. They found that a small increase — one microgram per cubic meter — in long-term exposure to particulate matter leads to a 15% increase in the COVID-19 death rate”.

With many so many counties around the country having elevated pollution levels, this can be concerning to residents in these areas. The data is all so new and has the potential to evolve over time as experts discover more and more about COVID-19 and the effects it has on each individual infected. For now, researchers are working to find as much information as possible with these links of air pollution and COVID-19. The data supports findings about air pollution and lung health that has been well established, as reported by abcnews.com. “’The nation has known for some time that long-term exposure to particle pollution can worsen symptoms of lung disease, increase susceptibility to lung infection, trigger heart attack and stroke, and can even cause lung cancer and premature death. This new research from Harvard now links particle pollution exposure to a dramatically higher death rate from COVID-19,’ Harold Wimmer, president of the American Lung Association said in a statement”.

Although this knowledge can be concerning, residents with a compromised heart or lungs in areas with higher pollution can take measures to protect themselves and stay healthy. Health.com recommends taking a vacation somewhere more rural with lower pollution levels to give your heart and lungs a break, or a “stay”cation inside where many people have air filters and air conditioning. Avoiding areas deep in cities that tend to have the highest levels of pollution can also be helpful, as well as wearing high quality masks (which will also help with Coronavirus protection when out in public). Maintaining heart and lung health are key components to staying strong and healthy, especially during the Coronavirus pandemic. By taking health and safety measures, people can do their part to keep the risk of complications lower in the chance they do someday contract the virus. Keeping your body healthy is pivotal, not only during a worldwide pandemic but in everyday life as well.

COVID-19 Is More Deadly In Obese People

Studies have shown that COVID-19 is more deadly in obese people, even if they are still young.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many studies have reported that many of the sickest COVID-19 patients are people who are obese. In recent weeks, that link has come into sharper focus as large new population studies have strengthened the association and demonstrated that even people who are merely overweight are at higher risk. According to ScienceMag, in the metaanalysis published on 26 August in Obesity Reviews, an international team of researchers pooled data from scores of peer-reviewed papers capturing 399,000 patients. They found that people who are obese who contracted SARS-CoV-2 were 113% more likely than people who have a healthy weight to land in the hospital, 74% more likely to be admitted to an ICU, and 48% more likely to die. One of the largest descriptive studies of hospitalized U.S. COVID-19 patients, posted as a preprint on August by Genentech researchers, found that 77% of nearly 17,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were overweight (29%) or obese (48%). Another study captured the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations among more than 334,000 people in England. Published also in August, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that although the rate peaked in people with a BMI of 35 or greater, it began to rise as soon as someone tipped into the overweight category.

There are many possible reasons why this is the case. For example, people who are obese are more difficult to care for. It may be more challenging to put a tube down their airway when hooking them up to a ventilator. They may also have reduced lung capacity. There are also other physiological and social factors involved. Obesity typically brings more conditions such as impaired immunity, chronic inflammation, and blood that’s prone to clotting. All of those conditions can worsen COVID-19 symptoms. Because obesity is so stigmatized, people who are obese also may avoid medical care.

It’s devastating to see the impact of obesity in COVID-19 patients, especially in younger patients. It could be one of the reasons why COVID-19 impact is so devastating in the United States, because 40% of American adults are obese. People who are obese have more risks of other serious diseases that are independent risk factors for severe COVID-19 complications, including heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes.

The physical conditions that render people who are obese vulnerable to severe COVID-19 symptoms begin with the mechanics: Fat in the abdomen pushes up on the diaphragm, causing that large muscle, which lies below the chest cavity, to impinge on the lungs and restrict airflow. This reduced lung volume leads to collapsing of the airways in the lower lobes of the lungs, where more blood arrives for oxygenation than in the upper lobes. Other issues compound these mechanical problems. For starters, the blood of people who are obese has an increased tendency to clot. Immunity also weakens in people with obesity, in part because fat cells infiltrate the organs where immune cells are produced and stored-such as the spleen, bone marrow, and thymus. They are losing immune tissue in exchange for adipose tissue, making the immune system less effective in either protecting the body from pathogens or responding to a vaccine.

The problem is not only fewer immune cells, but less effective ones. One study about obesity and immunity at the University of North Carolina studied how obese mice respond to the influenza virus. It demonstrated that key immune cells called T-cells do not function as well in the obese state. They make fewer molecules that help destroy virus-infected cells, and the corps of “memory” T-cells left behind after an infection, which is key to neutralizing future attacks by the same virus, is smaller than in mice of healthy weight.

Looking at these facts, people with obesity should take extra care and be extra cautious. It is really important to follow the social distancing protocols. Always wash your hands, wear a mask, and avoid large gatherings. With free time at home, find some simple exercises and try to lose weight. Even a little weight loss can improve the metabolic health of a person with obesity. By doing that, you are reducing your chances of developing severe COVID-19 if you do get infected.

Source: Science Mag