Vitamin D – In News

Vitamin D, often called as ‘Sunshine D’, has started to gain prominence over its pivotal role in women’s health. It is important for a number of reasons, from maintaining healthy teeth and bones to reducing the general risk of diabetes. Vitamins are nutrients that your body cannot create, however your body can produce Vitamin D with the help of a little sunshine. And as we know, a little bit of sunshine never did us harm, whether it’s for the mood or for the body! Here are 8 reasons why women need to increase their consumption of Vitamin D:

According to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, over 80 per cent of 200 Covid-19 patients in a hospital in Spain have vitamin D deficiency.

The study, published in the journal Pharmacology Research & Perspectives, aimed to evaluate the impact of vitamin D supplementation on response to standard treatment in pediatrics with severe atopic dermatitis.

A Phase 1 clinical trial featuring an investigational vaccine that uses a person’s own immune cells, a beta cell protein, and vitamin D3 to potentially treat type 1 diabetes is now recruiting patients.

Vitamin D is in the spotlight as UK’s health minister, Matt Hancock, looks to hear about “all possible scientific advances that might be helpful” in the fight against COVID-19. This comes in light of new evidence pointing to the vitamin’s efficacy, which is in contrast to previous government-backed reviews.

a study from the Boston University School of Medicine found that in comparison with vitamin D- deficient patients, vitamin D-sufficient hospitalized COVID-19 patients had a significant decreased risk for adverse clinical outcomes, including unconsciousness, hypoxia (body starved for oxygen) and death.

‘Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that has myriad positive effects on several systems in the body. Unlike other vitamins, it functions like a hormone and every cell in your body has a receptor for it,’ says Dr Manish Sontakke

Researchers have revealed that taking vitamin D and calcium twice a day may reduce your chances of getting vertigo again

A cohort study in Singapore has found that the combination of vitamin D, magnesium and vitamin B12 (DMB) could reduce the rate of progression in older patients with Covid-19.

Vitamin D has been repeatedly shown to modulate both the innate and adaptive immune response. Controlled trials show that vitamin D decreases acute respiratory infections.

And a deficiency of vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmunity and an increased susceptibility to infection. Most studies show that adequate supplementation can “prevent and improve” the development of some of these autoimmune diseases.

The target level of vitamin D remains controversial. Most experts recommend levels between 20 and 50, which is usually achievable with vitamin D3 doses of 800-2,000 IU daily (I prefer daily to weekly dosing).