Vitamin D and COVID-19: Supplementing Your Viral Safety Protocols

By: Andrew Sullivan

Vitamin D has undergone a renaissance in our understanding of the many roles it plays in our health. Its intake levels should no longer be prescribed with the perspective of merely preventing rickets but achieving optimum wellness. The medical community has previously established that vitamin D supports immune system response and is associated with reductions in comorbidities and chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, which increase the risk of COVID-19.

The association between vitamin D blood status and the risk of COVID-19 is being further investigated. Many of us probably take vitamin D supplements based on advice from our healthcare providers between 600 and 2,000 International Units (IU) per day; the question remains whether your current supplementation protocol is adequate for the purposes of improving your immune system. Healthcare organizations have differing opinions on the maximum amount of IU that is well tolerated in the general population without adverse side effects, with arguments being made between 4,000 and 10,000 IU daily.

The amount of vitamin D present in a liter of blood determines how we classify levels of deficiency, sufficiency, and toxicity. However, deficiency and sufficiency are currently only optimized for bone density, and not the other health factors that vitamin D influences. The amount of vitamin D from supplements that ends up in our blood can vary highly due to sun exposure and individual differences in metabolism. Units used to measure supplement concentration can vary, so ensure you are comparing correctly. The Mayo Clinic website has a thorough list of negative medication interactions to read through before increasing supplement dosage.

A cohort meta-analysis that was published September 3, 2020 hypothesized that hospital patients with higher blood concentrations of vitamin D were less likely to test positive for COVID-19.

This hypothesis proved to be statistically significant, as those with a blood level deemed sufficient (surveyed as supplementing the equivalent of 3000 IU of D3 daily) were 1.77 times less likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those with insufficient blood levels.

Additional research is needed to determine effective ranges to aid prevention and if vitamin D can decrease negative health outcomes once patients have contracted COVID-19. The practical takeaway from these investigations is to examine your personal vitamin D status and consumption and make a decision on whether or not to increase your intake. Sun exposure can come with its own set of health risks, and over-the-counter supplementation via vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) is an inexpensive and effective method of increasing blood levels.

It is recommended to speak with your primary healthcare provider before making any changes, and ideally having recent blood level test results to guide your decision with the ability to re-assess after several weeks of treatment. However, for the vast majority of people, simply increasing supplementation closer to the established Tolerable Upper Limit of 4,000 IU will likely add modestly to your coronavirus protection (while NOT being a substitute for other established protocols such as mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand hygiene) with a very small risk of negative effects.

Share This Post:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
RehaBlog

More Posts

Rediscovering Identity: Navigating Life After Limb Loss

The full or partial loss of a limb is a challenging, life-altering event. Those who experience it often endure changes in many aspects of their life from their work to their relationships to their perception of themselves. There is a grieving process due to the loss of the limb, and the apparent loss of the life that they had once lived. These factors can leave individuals with limb loss struggling with their personal identity or how they see themselves and the qualities specific to them. Self-esteem and self-confidence may decline and be replaced by feelings of inadequacy.

5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Core

The core and its importance in exercise is far more complex than most people know. In its entirety, the core can be thought of as a box that includes the abdominals in the front, the spinal and gluteal muscles in the back, the diaphragm as the roof, and the pelvic floor and hip muscles as the bottom. When all these muscle groups are equally strong and working together, safe and stable exercise is possible. However, if any of these core muscle groups are weak, it can lead to strain and overuse injuries. Thus, it is important to have a varied core exercise program to maintain a healthy and balanced core.

Why Do My Therapists Collect Outcome Measures?

If you have received physical rehabilitation services at some point, your therapist likely said to you, “Today, we are going to collect some outcome measures to see where we are starting.” Hopefully, you also heard, “Today, we are going to repeat those outcome measures to see how well you are doing.” Those two statements alone should provide some insight as to why outcome measures are being performed. Outcome measurement can give therapists an idea of where a patient is starting at the beginning of their therapy journey prior to any appointments, treatments, or intervention. Outcome measures also provide a way to see progress during the plan of care and the success of those appointments, treatments, or interventions.

Occupational Therapy for Concussions

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that can have far reaching effects on daily life by impacting vision, balance, memory, attention, problem solving, emotions, and sleep. Occupational therapists specialize in rehabilitation and adapting activities of daily life. Occupational therapy is highly individualized and centers on the specific roles, impairments, and demands of each person. Based on the specific needs of the individual, occupational therapy is often used to address the following after a concussion:

Start your Journey

Learn more about Sheltering Arms Institute

Contact a specialist at Sheltering Arms Institute to learn more about how you can gain more freedom in your everyday life.