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THE ESSENTIAL
- Researchers from the University Hospital of Oslo, Norway, want to recruit 70,000 volunteers to determine if cod liver oil and vitamin D prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
What if cod liver oil was an effective treatment for Covid-19 infection? The question can raise a smile. Yet it is very serious and is also the subject of a large-scale clinical study in Norway. As detailed The world, Oslo University Hospital announced on Tuesday (November 10) that it was seeking 70,000 volunteers to determine if cod liver oil can prevent contamination with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak. .
A more often benign form of the disease
This large-scale study builds on the results of a study launched last March to assess risk factors for SARS-CoV-2. 15,000 Norwegians responded, 2,000 of whom tested positive. They had detailed their lifestyle on the Internet.
It was found that regular consumers of cod liver oil were less carriers of the virus and, once infected, developed some form of the disease more often benign. “The difference is not astronomical, but significant enough for us to take a closer look. “explains Arne Soraas, a physician and researcher in the microbiology department at Oslo University Hospital.
One in five Norwegians use cod liver oil
This observation comes in addition to that of a Spanish study published on October 27 on Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and the work of the National Academy of Medicine which, last May, highlighted the benefits of vitamin D “in the regulation and suppression of the inflammatory cytokine response that cause the acute respiratory distress syndrome that characterizes the severe and often lethal forms of Covid-19”.
In fact, vitamin D is well known for its action in “prevention of respiratory tract infections”. In Norway, its consumption is even encouraged from the age of 1 by the health department. “At least one in five Norwegians swallows it every day “, underlines in The world Arne Soraas. According to the latter, however, it cannot be ruled out that these good results of cod liver oil against Covid-19 infection must be qualified. It is indeed possible that people who consume regularly are also more alert to the virus and take better care of their health.
To determine its true effectiveness, the researchers will send half of the volunteers’ bottles of cod liver to cover their daily consumption for six months. The others will receive a placebo consisting of corn oil. They will be followed for two years.
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