An Israeli study found that Vitamin D reduces the worst effects of coronavirus infection.
The research, published in the "Plos One" journal, was conducted by Bar Ilan University and Galilee Medical Center, The Times of Israel reported.
The study showed that patients with vitamin D deficiency were 14 times more likely to suffer from the severe effects of COVID disease.
"Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, pre-infection deficiency of vitamin D was associated with increased disease severity and mortality," the research concluded.
Dr. Amiel Dror, member of the research team, revealed that Vitamin D is effective against COVID, regardless of its variant.
"What we're seeing when vitamin D helps people with COVID infections is a result of its effectiveness in bolstering the immune systems to deal with viral pathogens that attack the respiratory system. This is equally relevant for Omicron as it was for previous variants," he said.
Some people, however, questioned the reliability of the results, raising the possibility that patients may just be suffering from conditions that both reduce vitamin D levels and increase vulnerability from COVID-19.
But when the team reexamined the data before the coronavirus infection, their findings remained the same.
Dror said that regardless of the timeframe over the two-year period before the infection, the correlation between vitamin D and severity of the disease is "extremely strong."
"Because this study gets such a good picture of patients' vitamin D levels, by looking at a wide timeframe instead of just the time around hospitalization, it offers much stronger support than anything seen so far emphasizing the importance of boosting vitamin D levels during the pandemic," he further stated.
Though others are still skeptical about the effectiveness of vitamins to protect against the virus, citing the natural COVID remedies that Israelis are taking, the researcher argued that the team's findings about the relevance of vitamin D is based on accurate data.
"People should learn from this that studies pointing to the importance of taking vitamin D are very reliable, and aren't based on skewed data. And it emphasizes the value of everyone taking a vitamin D supplement during the pandemic, which, consumed in sensible amounts in accordance with official advice, doesn't have any downside," Dror declared.
According to the article, "Vitamin D and COVID-19: An Overview of Recent Evidence," released by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in September 2021, vitamin D supplementation can help in treating COVID patients.
In the study conducted in India, the patients who were supplemented with vitamin D, "in addition to standard care," showed significant improvements compared to other patients who were not given supplements. Moreover, it found that patients with vitamin D deficiency "tended to require oxygen therapy," while those who were vitamin D deficient six months before coronavirus infection were likely to catch pneumonia.
In April 2021, the BBC also disclosed about the paper published by the University of Barcelona, discussing the effectiveness of vitamin D against COVID-19.
In the study, the researchers reportedly found that the intake of vitamin D was able to reduce 80% of intensive care admission and 60% COVID deaths.
However, the news outlet disclosed that the paper was later removed online due to "concerns about the description of the research" and was being investigated.
Despite the retraction, Conservative MP David Davis, who called for the introduction of vitamin D supplementation in hospitals at the time, expressed his belief to BBC that the study still showed the significance of vitamin D. And thus, he called for the government to fund more research about it.
