4/15 COVID-19 and vitamin D

By: Dr Eric Berg

Today we’re going to talk about COVID-19, and vitamin D. What I say is not meant to replace medical care, I’m not making any claims that vitamin D is going to cure this virus, and I’m not going to try to sell you vitamin D. I just want to increase your awareness on the importance of vitamin D for your immune system.  We know the coronavirus attacks a weak immune system. That’s it’s strength and your weakness. So, what could you do to help strengthen your weakness?  Vitamin D might be one of the things that you can take. If you have a pre-existing health problem, and you already have a weak immune system, you may want to do some things to help strengthen your immune system.  There are quite a few articles out there that talk about vitamin D deficiency being a pandemic in itself. It’s possible that 70-80% of the population has a deficiency of vitamin D or insufficiency of vitamin D.  A vitamin D deficiency could put you at a higher risk for: • Dental problems  • Inflammation  • Auto-immune conditions  • Infection  • Cardiovascular problems  • Cancer  • Diabetes type 2  • Bone loss  • Neurological problems  1. Vitamin D is critical for your immune system. It has viral-killing effects.  2. Vitamin D deficiency could increase your risk of over 300 illnesses, including the flu and respiratory infections like pneumonia.  3. Vitamin D deficiency could increase your susceptibility to getting infections.  4. A vitamin D deficiency could increase your risk of ARDS, which is involved in this coronavirus. 5. Vitamin D decreases pro-inflammatory cytokines.  6. Vitamin D increases the anti-inflammatory cytokine 2. 7. Vitamin D has anti-viral properties. 8. Vitamin D could lower the risk of respiratory infections.  Who’s at risk for a vitamin D deficiency? • The obese Who’s at risk for the coronavirus?  • The obese  Certain viruses can actually block your ability to absorb vitamin D.  Potential vitamin D deficiency causes: • Lack of sun • Sunscreen  • Darker skin • Malabsorption  • Breastfeeding  • Pregnancy  • Aging  • Winter  • Statins • Cortisol 

Here’s something really interesting about COVID-19 and vitamin D. Check this out.  DATA: https://vitamindwiki.com/Acute+respir... https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m... https://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.i... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...