Scientists: High Doses Of Vitamin D Won't Prevent COVID-19 Or Help Treat It

Scientists: high doses of vitamin D won't prevent COVID-19 or help treat it

The new scientific paper responds to the information circulating on the Internet regarding the effects of vitamin D on the coronavirus.

Photo: Jensen Stidham

Scientists from Europe and the United States are warning against taking high doses of vitamin D to prevent COIVID-19. They formulated their attitude to the problem in a consensus document, which was published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. Their article was in response to unsubstantiated claims circulating on the Internet that high (over 4,000 IU) doses of vitamin D reduced the risk of contracting coronavirus.

The authors of the article state that the available scientific evidence does not indicate that vitamin D can prevent COVID-19 or help treat the disease. When taking vitamin D supplements, they recommend adhering to official guidelines.

“Adequate levels of vitamin D in the body are essential for health. Too low a level threatens rickets or osteoporosis, but too much vitamin leads to an increase in the amount of calcium in the blood, which can harm the body,”said Professor Sue Lanham-New of the University of Surrey.

According to scientists, claims that the vitamin can help treat COVID-19 are not supported by adequate human studies.

Scientists reviewed previous studies, which concluded that vitamin D deficiency is associated with the risk of acute respiratory infections. They found a lot of limitations in these studies. For example, most of this data comes from developing countries. They cannot be extended to higher-income countries due to differences in external factors that affect people.

Even if there is a link between vitamin D and respiratory infections, it does not prove that high doses of the vitamin are helpful in prevention and treatment. Today, there is reliable information only on the harmful effects of vitamin D in excessive dosages.

“Most of the vitamin D in our body is produced by sunlight. But for many people, including those who are self-isolating, it can be really difficult to get enough of the vitamin,”said Professor Carolyn Greig, professor at the University of Birmingham. She noted that dosages of vitamin D supplements should be in line with national guidelines.

Scientists remind that vitamin D can be obtained from food: it is found, for example, in fish, red meat, egg yolks, in vitamin-fortified foods.

According to Russian recommendations, for the prevention of vitamin D deficiency, people over 50 are recommended to receive at least 800-1000 IU of vitamin per day, at the age of 18-50 the normal dose of vitamin is 600-800 IU per day.