[LIFESTYLE]Can vitamin D help the body fight coronavirus? Here’s what a study finds

[Nikhel Nice]

Can vitamin D help the body fight coronavirus? Here’s what a study find

Researchers found that patients who were vitamin D-sufficient, had better immunity and could fight the viral infection

 

 

We all know that good health is the sum total of many different minerals, vitamins, proteins, etc., that come to us either through our food, or through our lifestyle choices — such as exercising every day and sleeping on time.

While it is a known fact that the sun is the best source of vitamin D, a recent study has found that vitamin D can reduce COVID-19’s severity among patients, thereby giving them another reason to stay under the sun for a longer time.

According the Boston University School of Medicine — that conducted the study — COVID-19 patients with adequate levels of vitamin D have lesser chance of showing “adverse clinical effects of the coronavirus" — like becoming unconscious and suffering from hypoxia (when there is oxygen deficiency in the body). The results of the study were published in Plos One medical journal.

 

Researchers also found that patients who were vitamin D-sufficient, had lower levels of an inflammatory marker in the blood (known as the C-reactive protein), and higher levels of lymphocytes, which is a type of immune cell that helps in the fight against the infection, reports The National.

“This study provides direct evidence that vitamin D sufficiency can reduce the complications and ultimately death from COVID-19,” author Michael F Holick, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics, and molecular medicine, was quoted as saying.

 

For the research, the blood samples of 235 hospitalised coronavirus patients were drawn and studied.

While you can take vitamin supplements, doctors advise that spending some early hours of the day under sun can help your body absorb the vitamin. This, in turn, can help you become healthier.