“Increasing evidence suggests a link between higher vitamin D levels and lower incidence of COVID-19,” said Luke Huber, ND, MBA, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). “We have known for years that vitamin D plays an important role in immune health, and now there are multiple meta-analyses that appear to demonstrate the benefits of this nutrient in COVID-19.”
The Foundation’sVitamin D & Me!initiative has collected 13 meta-analyses, generated from more than 100 clinical trials published since the onset of the pandemic. Most of them examined blood levels of vitamin D and COVID-19, while two examined vitamin D consumption.
Most of the reviews found that higher blood levels of vitamin D appear to be correlated with lower incidence of COVID-19; several, but not all, found the corollary, that lower vitamin D was associated with greater severity of and mortality from COVID-19.
Looking at vitamin D intervention following COVID-19 diagnosis, one meta-analysis found that the intervention reduced mortality, while a smaller meta-analysis did not see a statistically significant relationship. The Foundation’s press release notes that timing and dosage of those interventions may have played a role in the differing results.
Related: The Natural View, Live at SSW: CRN’s 2021 Consumer Survey Study Supports Recommendation of Vitamin D for COVID Diet, Socioeconomic Status Linked to Risk of COVID
“This growing body of research does not indicate that Vitamin D is a substitute for vaccines, mask wearing, social distancing, or other behaviors to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus,” said Dr. Huber, “but the data does suggest that vitamin D levels may play a role, in combination with other therapies, in strengthening the immune system to resist the virus.”Summaries of the meta-analyses and links to the research are available on theVitamin D & Me! website.
“Consumers need science-based evidence to make informed health decisions,” said Brian Wommack, executive director of the CRN Foundation. “We hope consumers use these findings to better understand how nutrients like vitamin D support their goal of living a healthy lifestyle.”
