'Vitamin D Helps Fight Coronavirus, Israeli Study Shows': 'The Sunshine Vitamin'

[appalachiablue]

- 'Vitamin D Helps Fight Coronavirus, Israeli Study Shows.' Daily Kos, July 29, 2020 · 8:22 PM EDT.

Another study, this time from Israel, shows correlation between low Vitamin D levels and COVID-19 risk:

Good levels of vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin, help people to fight the coronavirus more quickly and effectively and reduce chances of hospitalization, Israeli researchers have concluded. The study was conducted at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv — ‘a public research university and Israel’s second largest academic institution’:

Times of Israel:

Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern of Bar Ilan University told The Times of Israel on Sunday that vitamin D is “like a steroid,” after publishing what she says is the world’s largest population-based study of its kind. Her team studied a 7,807-strong sample of Israelis who were tested for the coronavirus. It found that the average vitamin D level for people who screened negative was in the internationally-accepted “adequate” range, while the average for those who tested positive fell in the “inadequate” category.

Vitamin D levels of less than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood are considered inadequate. This is not the first study showing links between Vitamin D levels and Covid infection risk and it won’t be the last. The study has been peer-reviewed and is available here. I HIGHLY recommend you read the rest of the Times of Israel article.

For the folks out there who don’t follow this kind of research regularly, let’s make some things clear:

1. Vitamin D research has been vigorous over the last 15 years. Scientists and researchers both domestic and internationally have been releasing study after study highlighting the potential negative health impacts of Vitamin D deficiency and pushing government institutions to increase the recommended dosages as well as invest in more research. As a result RDA has doubled at least once in the last 20 years and it’s no longer just the ‘bone’ vitamin.

2. This isn’t about Dr. Oz, scare headlines, and internet conspiracies though unfortunately Vitamin D has become a pawn just like, well, all of us in a constant war of misinformation...

More + Comments,

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/29/1964983/-Vitamin-D-Helps-Fight-Coronavirus-Israeli-Study-Shows

[Phoenix61]

1. I had a vitamin D test done several months ago

after I told my doctor I was exhausted all the time. The test came back at 23 so I’ve been taking supplements since then. Took about 6 weeks and I still can’t believe the difference. Energy level back to what it had been over a year ago. I’m in Florida so I was getting enough sunshine but apparently as we age that system doesn’t work as well as it doesn’t when we’re younger.

[appalachiablue]

3. Great to hear & happy for you. Also how plenty of Sunshine

doesn't necessarily produce the benefits with age. I've never had low vitamin C but will check it out soon.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Interesting. I'm going to say that more research needs to be done.

I'm aware that there's a lot of stuff out there that says OMFG! Vitamin D deficiency is awful, will kill you, and all sorts of horrible things!

I've long been skeptical of such claims. One thing that bothers me is how all sorts of things, including minor vitamin deficiencies, or variations in some clinical findings, have been medicalized. If your blood sugar or blood pressure or cholesterol levels are not within a very narrow range, (and that range has been narrowed in recent years) then you need to be treated or take medication! Really? Why am I so skeptical?

In a side note, I heard on NPR a couple of days ago that since the Corona Virus lockdown, premature births have dropped significantly.

Hmmm.

Another side note. I rarely, if ever, go to doctors. A while back, when needing to pass a physical for a life insurance policy, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. So to qualify for the policy, I took medications. I also had high cholesterol, which I'd known about for some years, but I also know that high cholesterol is not the boogy man it's claimed to be. After a while, when my doctor wanted to add a fourth medication to the three I was already taking, I balked. Stopped seeing her. Stopped the meds. I no longer have the slightly disagreeable side effects from the meds, and overall I'm the healthiest person I know. Especially at my age, 71. In all honesty, I'm constantly amazed and appalled at how many people my age and a lot younger seem to have serious medical conditions, take lots of medications, and can barely function. It's scary.

I am not about to suggest you stop taking insulin or any other medication. But I will say that if you get to the point where you need to take a medication to counter the side effects of some other medication, you are probably taking at least one too many meds.

[KT2000]

4. My doctor recommended

Vitamin D from the beginning of this. Glad he did!

[JustAnotherGen]

5. I was low again last year

July 5th bloodwork shows I'm good. My autoimmune disease eats Vitamin D and Magnesium out of my system. Take both every day.