Vitamin D Benefits - A&W Clinic

Vitamin D has recently attracted the attention of research papers claiming that it can prevent the risk of contracting COVID 19 and even play an important role in reducing its symptoms. While there is still a lot of work to be done on COVID 19 research and clinical studies, it is safe to assume that healthy levels of vitamin D will help the body fight certain diseases.

Aesthetic & Wellness Clinic believes in the importance of spreading awareness about actual health research topics, and the importance of helping you to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Stay with us and discover some interesting facts about this essential vitamin.

What’s vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it is absorbed into the bloodstream by eating fatty-rich foods. Vitamin D can be obtained through sun exposure, regular diet and supplements.

Vitamin D benefits

Vitamin D plays a vital role in supporting several body systems including the skeletal, immune, respiratory, muscular, and nervous systems.

Vitamin D is essential for bone growth and development, improving calcium and phosphorus absorption. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to demineralization of bones, which can lead to rickets and growth problems in children. Adults with early symptoms of osteoporosis may have an increased risk of fractures if vitamin D insufficiency occurs.
Vitamin D plays an important function in the immune system due to its immunomodulatory properties, enhancing the body’s defenses by stimulating innate immunity in response to infections.
Enhances cell division, maintains neuron development, and enhances cognitive function. Hence, protect and prevent depression, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia factors.
Vitamin D also maintains normal blood sugar levels and prevents diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis.

Sources of vitamin D

The main sources of vitamin D are sunlight, food intake, and supplements.While exposure to sunlight is one of the main sources of vitamin D, it also has certain limitations, such as during winter and cloudy days. Working/studying indoors for long periods of time, and susceptibility to any skin disease. We strongly recommend obtaining vitamin D from food intake and supplements as a primary resource. Check out the list below for some of the best food sources of vitamin D:

Seafood: salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, and shrimp.
Beef liver
Eggs, especially the yolk.
Milk and milk products: swiss cheese and yogurts.
Mushrooms.

In addition to this, vitamin D supplements are an excellent option for avoiding vitamin D deficiency. However, it’s important to always consult your healthcare provider to design a nutritional program based on your needs.

High-risk groups

Some groups of people are at considerable risk for vitamin D deficiency:

Premature babies or babies that are born severely underweight.
Older people: Associated with reduced ability to synthesize vitamin D when sunlight hits the skin.
Kidney and liver disease patients that for some reason aren’t capable of absorbing fats.
Vegetarians and vegans because of a lack of vitamin D-rich foods in their diets.
Patients with drinking problems and those dealing with obesity.
Students or workers who spend lots of hours indoors.
Communities that live in places with limited sunlight or limited weather conditions.
Patients experiencing fat absorption issues: Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, and gastric bypass procedures.
Patients with sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, and/or histoplasmosis diseases.
People taking drugs that affect vitamin D metabolism: cholestyramine, antifungals, anticonvulsants, and HIV medications.

If for some reason you think you might be suffering from vitamin D deficiency, it’s always possible to perform blood tests to measure the amount of vitamin D in your body. During winter, vitamin D supplements are considered a source of supplementation and energy.

Should I increase my vitamin D intake if I’m not feeling well?

Too much vitamin D can also be bad for your health. Studies have shown that vitamin D toxicity is bound to occur when ingested at doses above 50.000 UI, which is more than required for health benefits and can lead to adverse side effects. Vitamin D toxicity causes nausea and vomiting, weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, irritability, and weight loss. The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is the accumulation of calcium in the blood, which can lead to bone loss, kidney stones, and calcification of internal organs. Vitamin D toxicity is usually caused by high-dose vitamin D supplementation, rather than by diet or sun exposure. Because the body regulates the amount of vitamin D produced by sun exposure. However, excessive sun exposure can lead to sunburn, spots, decay, and skin cancer.

Covid – 19 & Vitamin D deficiency

The COVID 19 pandemic has always been a challenge to the world. Publishing new research aimed at mitigating its impact on humans has become a daily business in scientific society. In this study, analysts uncovered new data on the relationship between COVID 19 and vitamin D deficiency:

Vitamin D plays a key role in respiratory diseases., and its deficiency has been linked to a significant increase of infections in the respiratory tract.
Thrombosis is very common in patients with COVID 19.
Obesity and Overweightness are risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, they also increase mortality rates linked to COVID 19. Many hypotheses suggest obese and overweight patients with vitamin D deficiency experience weak immune system, which seems to suggest greater complications when fighting COVID 19.
Medical research claims that vitamin D supplements can help reduce the effects of COVID 19. These supplements reduce symptoms normally seen in respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, and thrombosis. .
Some studies claim COVID 19 cases are more likely to occur during winter season when exposure to sunlight decreases.
A paper concluded that people who are vitamin D deficient are more likely to contract COVID 19.
Studies in the United States and Spain have shown that 80% of patients hospitalized with COVID 19 have low vitamin D concentrations.

The link between vitamin D and COVID 19 continues to be a fascinating research topic. Regardless, we must always seek to maintain optimal levels of health and quality of life. By paying special attention to our vitamin D intake, we are giving the immune system additional tools to fight COVID 19.

Other recommendations

The link between vitamin D and COVID 19 is going to continue to be a fascinating research topic. Regardless, we must always seek to maintain optimal levels of health and quality of life. By taking especial care of our vitamin D intake, we are giving our bodies and immune system an added tool to fight against COVID 19.

We must keep in mind that although sun exposure does wonders for our vitamin D needs. OSU recommends no more than 20 minutes of direct sunlight per day.

The Aesthetic & Wellness Clinic is ready to provide you with a treatment plan as your first step towards a healthy life. Book your appointment now.

References

Aponte, R. & Palacios, C. (2017). Vitamin D for prevention of respiratory tract infections. Nutrition Program, Graduate School of Public Health, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico. World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/elena/titles/commentary/vitamind_pneumonia_children/en/#:~:text=The%20summarized%20results%20showed%20that,0.84%3B%20p%3D0.0014
Aranow, C. (2011). Vitamin D and the Immune System. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 59(6): 881–886. DOI: 10.231/JIM.0b013e31821b8755.
Cutolo M., Paolino S. & Smith V. (2020). Evidences for a protective role of vitamin D in COVID-19. Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases RMD, 6, 1- 7. https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001454
Gómez de Tejada, R. (2014). Extraskeletal effects of vitamin D. Revista de Osteoporosis y Metabolismo Mineral, 6 (1), 11-8. https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1889-836X2014000500003
Harbige L., Calder P., Marcos A., Dardenne M., Perdigón G., Perez-Cano F., Savino W., Slobodianik N., Solano L., & Valdes R. (2020). ISIN position statement on nutrition, immunity and COVID-19. International Society for Immunonutrition (ISIN). Retrieved April 30, 2021 from https://immunonutrition-isin.org/
Murdaca, G., Pioggia, G. & Negrini, S. (2020). Vitamin D and Covid-19: An update on evidence and potential therapeutic implications. Clin Mol Allergy 18, (23) (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12948-020-00139-0
Nair, R. & Maseeh, A. (2012). Vitamin D: “The sunshine” vitamin. Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, 3 (2), 118- 126. DOI:10.4103/0976-500X.95506.
Oregon State University. (2017). Vitamina D. Centro de Información de Micronutrientes. Retrieved from: https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/es/mic/vitaminas/vitamina-D
Weir, E., Thenappan, T., Bhargava, M., & Chen, Y (2020). Does vitamin D deficiency increase the severity of COVID-19? Clinical Medicine, 20 (4), 107 – 108. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2020-0301

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