COVID-19 Lockdown can Lead to Vitamin D Deficiency
Table of Contents
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which is an essential nutrient for your body that helps your body to absorb calcium for maintaining healthy bones and teeth, prevents muscle weakness and depression, regulates genes and cell growth, prevents rickets and osteoporosis, and modulate the immune system. In this article we will study about How? COVID-19 Lockdown can Lead to Vitamin D Deficiency.
Vitamin D can be gain from very few foods but it is present in a very low amount which might not help a person to reach their daily recommended intake.
A human body can produce vitamin D in response to skin being exposed to the sunlight. But nowadays due to lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are not getting enough sunlight as they are not heading outside, Which causing vitamin D deficiency in them.
Although recent studies have found a connection between vitamin D and COVID-19, vitamin D may protect from viral infection and ameliorate the symptoms of COVID-19, including the cytokine storm.
It has been found that having an adequate amount of vitamin D in the body and supplementing with vitamin D can strengthen your immunity and may protect against respiratory illness.
It’s important to know that there’s currently no cure for COVID-19. Only some preventive measures can be helpful like maintaining social distancing and proper hygiene which can help protect your body from developing this disease.
Are you Vitamin D deficient?
Vitamin D deficiency means your body is not getting an adequate amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D can be produced by your body in response to sun exposure.
If you are facing problems like muscle weakness, pain, fatigue, tiredness, slow wound healing, bone loss, hair loss, and depression then your body is deficient in vitamin D.
Deficiency of Vitamin D symptoms are as follows :
- Getting repeatedly sick and infected:
Vitamin D helps to strengthen your immune system which very important to protect the body from viruses and bacteria that are responsible for causing illness.
Vitamin D contains anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties which are very essential for activating immune system defenses. It has been found that having an adequate amount of vitamin D in the body and supplementing with vitamin D can strengthen your immunity and may protect against respiratory illness.
Vitamin D is also helpful in preventing infection in the upper respiratory tract.
- Fatigue, tiredness, and muscle pain:
Vitamin D deficiency may cause feeling tired. An insufficient amount of vitamin D affects bone health and can cause bone and muscle weakness which results to cause fatigue.
One study on 120 children with vitamin D deficiency who are growing pains found that a single dose of vitamin D reduced pain by an average of 57%.
Research on 174 people having fatigue problems found that supplementing them with vitamin D for five weeks has lowered fatigue symptoms.
- Joints, back, and bone pain:
If you have bone and joint pain, it may mean a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium that promotes bone health, increases bone mass, and prevent bone loss.
One study has found over 9000 older women are having back pain because they are deficient in vitamin D.
Vitamin D deficiency is one of the reasons for people having back pain including severing back pain that affects there day to day life.
- Depression :
Vitamin D deficiency may cause depression more likely in adults.
An author of the 2019 review has found that a lower level of vitamin D may increase the risk of depression.
Vitamin D Supplements help to overcome depression including seasonal depression which often occurs during colder months.
- Delayed wound healing :
Vitamin D can cause slow healing of wound after injuries or surgery, If healing a wound take longer than usual it might be a sign of vitamin d deficiency.
Vitamin D plays an important role in wound healing because it regulates growth factors and other compounds that form new tissue.
One study found that when vitamin D is supplemented to patients having leg ulcers their ulcer size reduced by an average of 28%.
- Hair loss :
The main common reason for causing hair loss is because of stress but in some cases, hair loss can be caused due to nutrient deficiency.
Some research has found that women with a low level of vitamin D have a hair loss problem.
If your facing hair loss then there may be a chance of it causing due to vitamin d deficiency.
Treatments :
Treatment for Vitamin D deficiency involves adding more vitamin d rich foods in your diet and vitamin D supplement.
The National Institute of Health and Care Management has recommended that Adults with vitamin D deficiency requires 6000 IU of vitamin D3 every day for 8 weeks or 50,000 IU weekly for 8 weeks
If the blood test shows that the level of vitamin D in a person has adequately increased then the doctor may recommend a 2000 IU of daily maintenance dosage.
Is there any evidence about Can vitamin D can protect against COVID-19?
As there is no cure or treatment for COVID-19. Due to which there is a continuous rise in the COVID cases. Currently, there is no vaccine for COVID-19 and researchers are working towards it. There are no studies that have investigated the effect of Vitamin D on COVID-19. However, nothing has found the effect of Vitamin D deficiency on COVID-19.
But it is also found that to treat the diseases we must have a good immune system. So, deficiency of vitamin D can cause harm to your immunity and increase your risk of developing respiratory ailments.
However, studies also found that vitamin D supplements can enhance immune response and prevent respiratory infections.
The complete study shows that vitamin D supplements can help to reduce the risk of developing at least one ARI by 12 %.
Those who are with low Vitamin D levels can see the strongest effect.
Vitamin D is effective when taken daily or weekly in small doses. But it is less effective when taken in large doses against ARI.
Vitamin D Supplements can reduce mortality in adults, who are most at risk for developing respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.
Note: There is no evidence found on taking Vitamin D Supplements that can protect from COVID-19.
So, it is always advisable to consult a physician before taking this nutrient.
Still, now there is no evidence that vitamin D supplements reduce the risk of developing COVID-19 instead maintaining a healthy level of Vitamin D can boost immunity. Also, it helps in fighting against respiratory infections in general.
Conclusion:
Vitamin D – important nutrient for your body, and helps in boosting the immune system.
The research found that having Vitamin D Supplements can protect against respiratory infections.
But still, no evidence taking any supplement, including vitamin D, reduces your risk of developing COVID-19 as a result of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
If you are having Vitamin D deficiency must consult a physician to enhance your immunity and for proper dosing
2 thoughts on “COVID-19 Lockdown can Lead to Vitamin D Deficiency”