Vitamin D deficiency has been noted in patients from several countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates. Thus we see that COVID-19 patients in Italy, Spain and the UK, had lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients in countries that were not as severely affected.
However, this does not mean you should begin stock-piling Vitamin D. So, it is not the time to hoard medications or supplements of any kind, as so many studies are continuing. This note only means that “researchers have discovered a strong correlation between severe vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates.”
Unlocking Every Mystery of COVID-19: Vitamin D Deficiency
New Science Studies in COVID-19 Are Discovering Helpful Elements in Nature.
Researchers have been delving into every aspect of COVID-19 in recent weeks of the Pandemic. It is no surprise that scientists are pursuing every avenue to find therapies, causes and vaccines for the coronavirus disease that has already claimed nearly 100,000 US lives.
At Northwestern University, the research team investigated data from China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States. And they noted that many patients who tested for the deficiency did not survive COVID-19.
The leader of the research, Northwestern’s Dr. Vadim Backman, stated, “While I think it is important for people to know that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in mortality, we don’t need to push vitamin D on everybody.”
Findings Provoke Immediate Questions
Some people were skeptical. They maintained that the differences “in healthcare quality, age distributions in population, testing rates or different strains of the coronavirus might be responsible” for the findings. But Backman remained adamant. Backman is the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. He said, “None of these factors appears to play a significant role.” He added, “The healthcare system in northern Italy is one of the best in the world. He refuted objections to his findings three ways:
1 Differences in mortality exist even if one looks across the same age group.
2. The disparities in mortality still exist even when we study countries or populations which use similar testing.
3. Low Levels of D Jumped Out at Backman and his team
Low D Vitamin Levels Revealed
Apparently it was not difficult to notice the low vitamin levels once the team began correlating unexplained differences in COVID-19 mortality rates between various countries. They weren’t exactly looking for it. However, they immediately saw…”a significant correlation with vitamin D deficiency…”
Then, using publicly available patient data from around the world, Backman and his team also saw a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and cytokine storm. The Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists have explained a cytokine storm and its relationship with coronavirus in a previous FLASS blog.
Briefly, A Cytokine storm “a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system. Thus, “Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients.” The head author of the study, Ali Daneshkhah, stated that the cytokine storm “…is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself.” In other words, the direct causes of COVID-19 deaths are the complications “from the misdirected fire from the immune system.”
Vitamin D and the Heart of the Matter
Vitamin D May Not Stop Us From Getting COVID-19, But It May Help Us Survive.
Now we reach the heart of the study. Vitamin D does two things for our immune systems:
1.. First we know, it “enhances our innate immune systems.”
2. Likewise it also stops our immune systems from becoming critically hyper-active.
3. Thus, we know that healthy levels could shield patients from the most severe complications of COVID-19. That includes the ultimate complication of death
Vitamin D and Some Good News
According to Backman, the research shows that a healthy amount of D might cut the mortality rate of COVID-19 in half. Caution. Be advised that neither FLASS nor Northwester wants you to jump to conclusions. They hastened to state that vitamin D would not prevent a patient from contracting COVDID-19. However,t their final conclusion was that it might “reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected.”
Backman noted carefully that people should not take excessive doses of vitamin D. As with many vitamins, you might encounter negative side effects. Furthermore, he asserted that this topic needs much more investigation. (That seems to be true about everything related to COVID-19.) Therefore, we are all eager to learn how it could be used most effectively to protect against COVID-19 complications.
Currently we do know 3 Amazing Vitamin D Factors
1. Deficiency is hurtful to the human body,
2. We can easily cure the deficiency with proper supplements.
3. And last and most strategically, Dr. Backman declares,“This might be another key to helping protect vulnerable populations, such as African-American and elderly patients, who have a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.” (We think these are brilliant deductions.)
Terrific Take-Aways
By the way, Dr. Vadim Backman possesses some very impressive credentials. He is the director of Northwestern’s Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering and the associate director for Research Technology and Infrastructure at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University. In summary of his findings, he remarked simply, “This needs further study, and I hope our work will stimulate interest in this area. The data also may illuminate the mechanism of mortality, which, if proven, could lead to new therapeutic targets.”
Where Can You Find Vitamin D?
Did You Know, Vitamin D Can Be Found In Milk?
And It is Also Delicious, Especially with Cookies.
You can find this vital vitamin in many food sources. You do not have to take it out of a bottle. For example, Avocados, fish, nuts and milk include rich amounts. For more food suggestions, FLASS suggests you check out this healthy online resource.
Likewise you can find this vital element right outside your front door, in the sunshine. That’s right. Vitamin D is a gift of the sun. It awaits you in the sunny air we breathe. Indeed, vitamin D is another advantage of a healthy lifestyle that includes some time out-of-doors. With Florida opening businesses, parks and beaches again, doctors and staff at FLASS see lots of Vitamin D coming your way.