Although different medical experts are continuously looking for any medication or therapy that can help coronavirus patients, COVID-19 still has no cure, and it can take months until a vaccine arrives.
Nevertheless, it appears there is one simple thing people can do to help avoid severe viral infection and increase your chances of survival.
The Link Between The Vitamin D and COVID-19
All you need to do is increase your intake of vitamin D through supplements or basking in the sun every morning--the best source of vitamin D and free as there have been several studies that link vitamin D to the coronavirus infection and how severely it can affect a person.
TechTimes has previously reported a study led by Northwestern University that shows patients who had lower vitamin D levels were usually those who had a higher mortality rate.
"Our finding suggests that Vit D may reduce COVID-19 severity by suppressing cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients," wrote by the researchers in their paper published in medRxiv.
The researchers also found out that people with lower vitamin D levels have a mortality rate of 17.3%, which is higher than the 14.6% mortality rate of patients with normal vitamin D levels.
Another researcher from Oregon State University also believes that taking supplements rich in vitamins C and D could actually help in boosting the immune system, which could then help in preventing severe COVID-19.
How Does it Help Against the Coronavirus Infection?
But how does it help, and how can people get sufficient levels of vitamin D to avoid severe coronavirus infections?
The CEO of Mend Urgent Care and ER physician, Dr. Anthony Cardillo, spoke with KABC in Los Angeles via Skype to explain the recent studies linking vitamin D insufficiency to higher mortality rates and higher chances of having severe COVID-19.
"Vitamin D is a phenomenal molecule in our bodies," Dr. Cardillo said. "Vitamin D does boost and modulate the immune system."
He also said that it is a pro-hormone, which then turns into a molecule and is capable of going throughout the body.
The physician also explained that experts in China started realizing that the people who were the sickest for a longer time had the lowest levels of vitamin D among other coronavirus patients that they were handling, which backs up recent studies showing the same results.
It may also mean that those who were sick and were hospitalized likely had low levels of vitamin D as well.
How to Elevate Vitamin D Levels
Overall, Dr. Cardillo suggested that we should all start to supplement ourselves with vitamin D to reduce the overall risks of getting the viral infection or to at least decrease the chances of becoming critically ill.
The physician also recommended that people go out in their backyard to soak some sunshine.
He also suggested going out and taking a walk but warned that it's still essential to practical physical distancing to avoid getting infected.
Fatty fishes and fortified milk and cereals are also great ways to elevate vitamin D levels.
Nevertheless, he warned that we should only take 1,000 to 2,000 i.u. of vitamin D each day as it is possible for people to overdose on it.
