Health and Wellbeing
Here’s Why Vitamin D Is Vital for Immunity and What We Can Do About It.
Researchers recommend raising vitamin D levels to above 50 ng/ml to prevent new outbreaks due to escape mutations or decreasing antibody activity.
Introduction
Vitamin D is a potent epigenetic regulator influencing more than 2,500 genes. Therefore, any improvement in vitamin D status will significantly affect the expression of genes with a wide variety of biological functions of more than 160 pathways.
These pathways have links to cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and acute respiratory tract infections associated with vitamin D deficiency.
Suppose I tell you there are noticeable patterns when vitamin D deficiency compared to Covid morbidity and mortality, such as IL6, TNFa, IFNy, Th1, ACE2 expression, and coagulability. In that case, you might pay more attention to the message of this article.
In September, I posted a research-based article related to the significance of vitamin D, but it did not create significant visibility. Perhaps the title of my writing did not resonate with the readers. However, as it is a critical vitamin and, in fact, a hormone for all of us, I feel obliged to amplify ongoing research and create visibility.
I recently came across an outstanding research paper in MDPI’s Nutrient journal. The title of this meta-analysis and systematic review is “COVID-19 Mortality Risk Correlates Inversely with vitamin D3 Status, and a Mortality Rate Close to Zero Could Theoretically Be Achieved at 50 ng/ml 25(OH)D3”. It is authored by Lorenz Borsche, Bernd Glauner, and Julian von Mendel.
The research team performed a comprehensive and systematic literature search to identify retrospective cohort and clinical studies on COVID-19 mortality rates versus D3 blood levels.
They corrected mortality rates from clinical studies for age, sex, and diabetes. They analyzed data using correlation and linear regression methods.
The study concluded that the datasets provide strong evidence for low D3 to be a predictor rather than just a side effect of the infection. Therefore, the researchers recommend raising serum vitamin D levels to above 50 ng/ml despite ongoing vaccinations to prevent or mitigate new outbreaks due to escape mutations or decreasing antibody activity.
In addition, another comprehensive study concluded that “regular bolus vitamin D supplementation was associated with less severe COVID-19 and better survival in frail elderly.” By the way, bolus means oral supplementation. So, the research studies on vitamin D are vigorous. However, we need more conclusive reflections on this health crisis.
Why Vitamin D Matters for Health, Especially for Immunity
Without going into the details of many research studies, I want to highlight a few critical points of vitamin D on our health. For more information, you may check my previous article and watch the video I attached at the end, presented by Professor Roger Seheult, MD, who articulates recent vitamin D within the Covid-19 context.
First of all, vitamin D is not just an optional nutrient. It is a critical supplement that the human body needs, especially when we don’t have enough sunlight or consume vitamin D-rich food.
Ironically, most humans, especially men, lack this nutrient in this modern world primarily due to risks posed by sunlight and refraining from food containing this critical vitamin, which also acts as a hormone.
Unfortunately, exposing our bodies to sunlight in some countries is not possible due to climate restrictions. Various studies show the relationship between mortality and vitamin D in general, especially when researchers looked at the sun’s position in multiple geographies.
The musculoskeletal consequences of inadequate vitamin D have been well documented in the body of knowledge, as I pointed out in an article. However, this remarkable progress also caused some issues. For example, some researchers used vitamin D with a high dose of calcium. Thus, they obtained the wrong results.
These non-rigorous studies obscured the value of vitamin D for other health conditions. Fortunately, clever researchers identified this problem and focused on their research by isolating this vitamin from calcium. We know that calcification issues can be addressed with vitamin K2 supplementation, which transfers calcium from the bloodstream to the bones. So, there is not as significant a risk as alarmed by false studies.
Besides many health conditions, the vital issue in this pandemic relates to our immune system. Research in immune studies found that vitamin D has a critical role in the innate immune system via the production of antimicrobial peptides such as cathelicidin.
In addition, vitamin D can enhance the function of immune cells, such as T cells and macrophages.
Vitamin D has a vital role in the respiratory tract, skin, and gut health. Related to immunity, numerous autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type I diabetes, indicate vitamin D deficiency.
Moreover, respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and tuberculosis are associated with vitamin D deficiency. So Vitamin D does not affect just bones but also tissues and organs.
Conclusions and Takeaways
The good news is we can get our vitamin D levels checked efficiently with blood tests. These tests show our deficiency.
Thus, medical professionals can provide nutritional guidance and supplementation based on test results.
Vitamin D is safe in general. Nonetheless, it is possible to overdose on it. Like anything else, excessive vitamin D can be toxic to the body. I shared the importance of moderation within the homeostasis context in this recent article: Health Is All About Homeostasis.
If you have associated diseases mentioned in this article, you can review these research resources and obtain guidance from your healthcare practitioners. You can get a vitamin D fact sheet from the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) for more information.
As ODS documentation points out:
“our body needs vitamin D for various functions. Our muscles need it to move, and our nerves need it to carry messages between our brain and the body. In addition, our immune system needs vitamin D to fight off invading bacteria and viruses.”
Therefore, I firmly believe that every doctor would take vitamin D deficiency seriously during this health crisis. It is a worthwhile effort because “a mortality rate close to zero could theoretically be achieved at 50 ng/ml of vitamin D in the bloodstream”.
Related to immunity, another supplement that gets attention is NAC. However, we still face a shortage of this supplement globally.
Here is the video by Professor Roger Seheult, a quadruple Board Certified medical doctor in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. He reviews critical research and informs the public brilliantly.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Please note that this story is not health advice. I shared my reviews, observations, and perspectives for information purposes only. If you have related diseases, please consult your healthcare professionals.
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