Vitamin D effect has no direct connection with Covid-19, no evidence is found of against Corona. Does the “sun vitamin” help against a severe course of Corona? According to experts, current studies on this are insufficient to make a recommendation.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, theses have been wafting through the net. According to which the supplementary intake of vitamin D could offer additional protection against Covid-19.
The German Nutrition Society (DGE) has now examined the study situation in this regard. It concludes that the data are insufficient to demonstrate a clear cause-effect relationship. For this reason, taking vitamin D supplements cannot be recommended across the board.
In contrast to various vitamins, the body can produce vitamin D by itself – through sunlight, or more precisely UV-B radiation of specific wavelengths. It is necessary to remain outdoors because the UV-B components cannot penetrate through window panes. Diet – such as fatty sea fish, offal, mushrooms or eggs – makes a relatively small contribution to vitamin supply (around 10 to 20 per cent).
It is only advisable to take vitamin D supplements if there is an undersupply, i.e. if a too low value has been proven and It cannot achieve a better deal by spending time in the sun or eating. If you have enough vitamin D anyway, you probably won’t benefit from extra pills. Rather, you can overdose on vitamin and provoke undesirable side effects, such as kidney stones, kidney calcifications, and the cardiovascular system’s disorders.
The link between vitamin D and severe courses of Covid
According to overview studies, vitamin deficiency could potentially increase the risk of acute respiratory infections. However, according to the DGE, it is questionable whether the intake of vitamin supplements also protects against severe Covid-19 courses.
The DGE experts reviewed dozens of studies and observations from different countries. A connection between a decreased vitamin level and an increased risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection with a severe course of the disease can be assumed, according to the current DGE specialist information on the subject (as of January 11, 2021 ). Nevertheless, the conclusion of the nutritionists is: »At the moment there are no arguments in favour of supplementing vitamin D in people with an adequate vitamin D status to prevent Sars-CoV-2 infection or reduce the severity of Covid-19 disease. “
Does vitamin B3 help with a corona infection?
Some studies have reported positive effects of vitamin administration in the course of Covid 19 disease. However, the data mostly showed technical deficiencies. For example, because They did not know the test subjects’ vitamin status before they became ill, the comparison groups were significantly different or were prone to risk factors such as obesity or diabetes.
Criticism of Studies
For example, Attempts were made at the Reina Sofia hospital in Madrid to get to the bottom. 50 Covid-19 patients were given vitamin D; only one of them ended up in the ICU. In a control group of 26 patients not getting vitamin D preparations, half had to be administered in the ICU, and two died.
However, the Spanish research immediately came under fire. On closer investigation, it became clear that in the second group – the patients without vitamin regime – more previous illnesses, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, were registered and therefore more risk factors for a rigorous course of Covid-19. “If you set the (relatively) healthy people in the vitamin assembly and the (relatively) sick persons in the control group, then it is obvious beforehand what the outcome will be,” says Martin Smollich, pharmacologist-professor at the Institute for Nutritional Medicine at Schleswig University Hospital -Holstein in Lübeck.
Smollich also emphasizes that it cannot prove a causal connection between vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19. Instead, a low vitamin D level measured at hospital admission could result from Covid 19 disease. In the circumstances of an acute, severe infection, the vitamin D level falls drastically in the brief term. Besides, a vitamin deficiency “occurs higher than average in diseases and existence conditions that in turn improve the Covid 19 risk, i.e. in old age, with obesity or with type 2 diabetes”.
The virologist Sandra Ciesek had already said in the NDR’s Corona podcast that the risk of a vitamin D deficiency generally increases with People who are seldom outdoors. For example, this applies to the chronically ill or people in need of care who may no longer be able to eat well. Precisely this group is also considered to be particularly at risk of Covid-19.
Vitamin D tablets: How beneficial are supplements
Few people in Germany have a vitamin D deficiency, but many have a suboptimal value. The blood value below the optimum is not yet in a range that is assessed as harmful.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is also currently not conscious of any investigations that prove that taking vitamin preparations protects against contamination with the coronavirus or illness. It is discreetly undisputed that vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system. But that does not imply that one should take high-dose vitamin supplements as a preventive measure without medical supervision.