We should know by now that vitamin D is crucial to our health. If you think about it, humans have had consistent exposure to the sun since we’ve been walking on this earth… until recently. Vitamin D has been part of our natural system to optimise our health.
Now, more than ever before in human history, we are sun deprived. Most of our modern life is spent indoors, away from sunlight and bathed in artificial light. Even if we do get daily sunlight we often don’t have the opportunity to absorb and convert vitamin D because we are fully clothed with very little direct sunlight to skin contact.
I have analysed 100’s of blood test results and I have only seen a handful that have had sufficient vitamin D status – and those patients were already supplementing with vitamin D.
What does this have to do with COVID-19?
There is a surprising degree of overlap between people who test positive for COVID-19 and people who are more likely to have low vitamin D levels, such as those with darker colored skin and those who live in northern latitudes.
Factors that increase the risk for COVID-19 severity also increase a person’s risk for vitamin D deficiency.
In a study of more than 190,000 people who tested positive for COVID-19, it was determined that lower vitamin D levels were strongly associated with testing positive despite all other factors such as race, location, and sex.
The older you are the more likely you are to have vitamin D deficiency. The darker your skin colour the more likely you are to be vitamin D deficient and to be affected from COVID-19. The more obese you are, the lower your vitamin D status and higher morbidity in terms of COVID-19.
The relationship between vitamin D status and COVID-19 remains persistent across latitudes, races/ethnicities, both sexes, and age ranges. Vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections and the severity of COVID-19 disease.
