This Vitamin Won’t Protect You From Severe COVID

Throughout the COVID pandemic, many experts have theorized that boosting one’s immune system through simple methods like taking vitamins could help combat the coronavirus. Even White House COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, MD, has suggested taking certain supplements to boost your immune system amid the pandemic. But a new study has found that one highly regarded vitamin may not actually protect you from severe COVID like many had hoped. Read on to find out which vitamin was just proven to be ineffective against a severe case of the virus, and for one way to stay safe from COVID, see why Inhaling This Could Reduce Your Severe COVID Risk 90 Percent, Study Finds.

Both those who received vitamin D and those who did not reported an average hospital stay of seven days, meaning that using vitamin D as a treatment method for these patients did not seem to improve their illness. According to the study, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of death, admission to the ICU, or the need for a ventilator either.

The study results “do not support routine administration of vitamin D in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19,” U.S. clinicians David Leaf, MD, and Adit Ginde, MD, wrote in a statement accompanying the study. And for more on what puts you at risk of having a serious case, If You’ve Had This Common Illness, You’re More Likely to Die From COVID.

However in another study published in JAMA Network Open on Feb. 12, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that COVID patients who took 10 days worth of high vitamin C doses reported gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. And for more on treatments that do seem to be working, check out This Common Medication Could Slash Your Risk of COVID Death, Study Says.

While vitamin D may not be a suitable treatment for COVID, previous studies have concluded that being deficient in vitamin D may be harmful amid the pandemic. A September study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that those with vitamin D deficiencies were 77 percent more likely to test positive for COVID than those who had adequate vitamin D levels. And an October study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that 82.2 percent of hospitalized COVID patients were deficient in vitamin D and had lower levels of vitamin D than those who were not infected with the virus. And for another surprising factor that puts you at risk, check out If You’ve Done This Recently, You’re 70 Percent More Likely to Get COVID.