Vitamin D, a way to protect yourself from severe forms of Covid-19

To the many already known benefits of vitamin D, will we soon be able to add protective virtues against Covid-19? A number of data tends to support this possibility although the WHO does not, for the moment, recommend this prohormone as an outbreak treatment due to lack of sufficient convincing studies.

After Scotland, the UK is preparing to give free vitamin D to two million elderly and vulnerable people in the hope of protecting them from severe Covid-19. According to Daily Telegraph, citing the British Secretary of State for Health and Welfare, the deployment is in preparation and could begin in December. A few days ago, researchers from Queen Mary University of London launched a clinical trial designed to evaluate the effect of vitamin D on the immune system against the virus. Recruited deficient patients should take higher doses of normal supplements daily for six months.

For their part, Norwegian researchers have also just launched an appeal for 70,000 volunteers. Target ? This time, test the effectiveness of vitamin D through cod liver oil which naturally contains it. This large clinical study stems from previous work dating back to last March in which 15,000 Norwegians, 2,000 of whom tested positive, detailed their lifestyle. It was found that regular consumers of cod liver oil were less affected by Covid-19 and, once infected, developed a severe form less often.

While the role of vitamin D on disease has been questioned since the spring, the French have become interested in it. Already in March, Dr Emmanuelle Faucon from Toulon raised the issue that Jean-Marc Sabatier (research director at the CNRS in Marseille) and Cédric Annweiler (head of the geriatrics department of the University Hospital of Angers) subsequently addressed. . To date, they have more than ten articles published on the subject to their credit, recalls France 3 Paca. They particularly highlighted the importance of vitamin D for so-called immunity. “innate”, considered the first barrier to infection. Jean-Marc Sabatier also insists on the role of “regulator“interpreted by vitamin D which”puts a stop to the renin-angiotensin system when it is carried away by the virus“, is”counterbalances the deleterious effects of the virus“.

As an illustration, according to the French Academy of Medicine, 41% of the French population suffers from a vitamin D deficiency in winter.

A Spanish study published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism recently confirmed the virtues of vitamin D against Covid-19. In detail, out of 50 patients who received the supplement, only one was transferred to the ICU and no deaths were reported. Of the 26 patients who did not receive this treatment, half were referred to the ICU.

Last May, an American study also showed that patients with Covid-19 and lacking in vitamin D are twice as likely to develop a severe form of the disease than others. A thesis that in turn has come to support the National Academy of Medicine. “Plays a role in the regulation and suppression of the inflammatory cytokine response that cause the acute respiratory distress syndrome that characterizes the severe and often fatal forms of Covid-19“, he detailed in a press release. Finally, a statistical analysis of data collected from hospitals around the world concluded that vitamin D allowed to reduce the number of severe cases in patients infected with the virus by 15%.

If the effectiveness of this hormone against the virus has not been proven so far, its consumption is still recommended during the winter. A simple blood test can allow you to certify the state of deficiency and, if necessary, a prescription of vitamin D ampoules can allow you to overcome it.

As a reminder, vitamin D exists in two main forms: D2 and D3. It is therefore found in various foods of animal origin (D3) such as cod liver oil and fatty fish (herring, salmon, tuna, herring, anchovies). But also in butter, margarine, eggs, organ meats and vegetables (D2), in lower doses, such as yeast, mushrooms or even cereals.

In summer, vitamin D is synthesized in the human body thanks to the effect of the sun, since UVB rays are a source of vitamin D3.