 |
| Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash |
Background
Vitamin D is known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’. Though it is obtained from certain dietary sources in small amounts, Vitamin D is mainly produced by our own body when our skin is exposed to sunlight.
Vitamin D is known to have an immunomodulatory role in the human body.
A systematic review and meta analysis of 25 meticulously selected randomized controlled trials by an international team of researchers regarding the role of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention of acute respiratory tract infections was published in BMJ on February 15,2017.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5310969
This systematic review and meta analysis clearly shows that Vitamin D provides protection against acute respiratory tract infections.
A second study which looks at the possible roles of solar ultraviolet-B radiation and vitamin D in reducing case-fatality rates from the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in the United States is linked below.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20592793
Mechanism
Problem
Prolonged periods of self quarantine inside closed buildings without exposure to natural sunlight can reduce Vitamin D levels in your body, which may increase your susceptibility to respiratory infections, including COVID19. Also, if you get an infection eventually, a baseline Vitamin D deficiency may increase the severity of infection and may also increase the chances of a fulminant and life-threatening cytokine storm.
