As the world appears to be spinning out of control, it's easy to get lost in coronavirus-related fear and worry. While a whole range of proactive steps to safeguard our physical and mental health — from social distancing to online therapy — are at our disposal, it's sometimes quite easy to overlook the relatively simple steps that could make a world of difference.
Why should you care about your vitamin D levels?
If you are vitamin D deficient, and a lot of people are, without realizing it, you want to know about it. Vitamin D represents one of the essential micronutrients that humans depend on for optimal health and functioning. From research on the potential consequences of a vitamin D deficiency, we know that a lack of this essential vitamin has a negative impact on almost all aspects of your health and functioning.
Being deficient in vitamin D can make you more susceptible to anything from cardiovascular disease and hypertension, to low muscle tone and bone fractures as a result of poor bone health. It can make conditions like diabetes and asthma harder to manage. Research indicates that people with adequate vitamin D levels have lower rates of certain cancers, like breast cancer and pancreatic cancer. Menstruating and vitamin-D deficient women who started supplementing with vitamin D have reduced PMS symptoms.
This vitamin plays a crucial role in immune system functioning, as well. Though research is weaker in this area, there is some evidence to suggest that people who are severely deficient in vitamin D will be less vulnerable to upper respiratory infection, and less likely to become very sick, once they get their vitamin D levels up.
Where do we get vitamin D from?
This fat-soluble vitamin, one of the 24 essential micronutrients we really need to maintain health and normal functioning, is also natural present in a few foods — which many people around the globe need to meet their requirements:
- Fatty fish, which would include mackerel, salmon, trout, and tuna, as well as oils derived from them, are some of the best dietary sources of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the kind of vitamin D that your diet will only give you through animal sources.
- Other meats, like beef liver, will also contain D3 in smaller amounts, along with sources that are friendly to vegetarians but not vegans, such as cheeses and eggs.
- Vitamin D2, also known as ergocalciferol, can be found in non-animal food sources — mushrooms, especially those grown under UV lights, can be a significant dietary source of D2, which is less efficiently used in the body.
- Many foods, including breakfast cereals, cow and soy milk, and orange juice, are often fortified with vitamin D. Fortified foods artificially add the vitamin to your diet.
Shocking numbers of people are deficient in vitamin D
Research into the global rates of vitamin D deficiency uncovered that a shocking rate of people all across the globe have mild deficiencies (defined, in this case, as 25(OH)D levels <50 nmol/L or 20 ng/ml):
- In the United States, an estimated 24 percent of people have mild vitamin D deficiencies.
- Thirty-seven percent of Canadian residents are thought to have low vitamin D levels.
- As many as 40 percent of Europeans are estimated to be deficient in vitamin D.
Data about other regions is less centralized, but for instance, in countries like India, Tunisia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as many as 20 percent of the population may be dealing with severe vitamin D deficiencies, defined here as 25(OH)D <30 nmol/L or 12 ng/ml, which can have serious negative health consequences. Severe deficiencies of this kind also thought to exist (extrapolated from research samples) in 5.9 percent of the US population, 7.4 of the Canadian population, and 13 percent of the European population.
Why vitamin D deserves to be on your radar during the COVID-19 pandemic
Vitamin D deficiencies were already a problem before COVID-19 came along, as you can see. Some groups of people were already routinely advised to supplement with vitamin D3, the form of the vitamin that's more efficiently used. They include children under four, women over 60, all older adults over 70 (who should take 20 micrograms), and people living in the northern hemisphere who didn't get a whole lot of sunlight exposure. Pregnant women and those who are obese, too, were already advised to take 10 micrograms of vitamin D3 as a supplement, even without being tested for a deficiency.
Because of social distancing measures, many people have been spending a lot more time indoors than usual. This means reduced exposure to the sunlight you need to make vitamin D. The British National Health Service (NHS) is now advising everyone who lives in the UK to take 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D a day between October and March, specifically as a result of reduced sunlight exposure.
Low vitamin D levels in general, and severe vitamin D deficiencies in general, were already known to be linked with a higher risk of respiratory tract infections, as well as increased odds of certain complications (including pneumonia). Now, some research into the link between severe COVID-19 cases and vitamin D deficiency has noted that people who are more likely to be deficient — obese people and diabetics — are also more likely to succumb to the coronavirus.
They are now suggesting that the role of vitamin D supplementation in the treatment of COVID-19 should be further researched. This doesn't mean that vitamin D is a silver bullet, at all, but it could mean that you need to take a closer look at your own intake.
One final reason to consider whether you are getting enough vitamin D — or whether you could be deficient — is your mental health. From older research, we already know that low vitamin D levels can have a negative impact on mood and cognitive performance. We know that a vitamin D deficiency raises your risk of depressive disorders like major depression and seasonal affective disorder. We also know that taking vitamin D supplements during the winter improves the mood of even healthy people, increasing their energy levels and sleep quality in the process.
With unprecedented numbers of people reporting that their mental health has suffered as a result of the pandemic and its secondary consequences, like social isolation and economic turmoil, clinical depression and anxiety now pose very real threats to people around the globe.
If something that can be addressed as easily as low vitamin D levels can have a positive impact on multiple facets of your life, that's very much worth exploring — many of us need all the help we can get right now. If you were already deficient (and vegetarians like me may need to take an extra careful look), remedying that will also have a positive impact on your general health.
It's important to note that it's not a good idea to start taking more than the recommended daily amount as a supplement without your doctor's say-so. Go ahead and add more vitamin D sources to your diet, and take an over-the-counter supplement of 10 micrograms of vitamin D3 if you see you may need it, because you don't spend much time in the sun and don't eat many foods that offer vitamin D.