Multiple meta-analyses suggest that vitamin D may help reduce incidence and severity of COVID-19 illness

The CRN Foundation (Washington, D.C.), via its Vitamin D & Me! education initiative, is lauding new research demonstrating significant links between vitamin D and COVID-19. Thirteen meta-analyses generated from more than 100 clinical trials published since the onset of the pandemic, examined the relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19. Most of the analyses reveal that higher blood levels of vitamin D may be correlated with lower incidence of COVID-19. Others found greater severity of and mortality from COVID-10 was associated with lower vitamin D levels. One of the meta-analyses did not find a statistically significant relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19.

“Increasing evidence suggests a link between higher vitamin D levels and lower incidence of COVID-19,” said Luke Huber, ND, MBA, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), in a press release. “We have known for years that vitamin D plays an important role in immune health, and now there are multiple meta-analyses that appear to demonstrate the benefits of this nutrient in COVID-19.”

The summaries and links to the text of the meta-analyses can be found on the Vitamin D & Me! website. “Consumers need science-based evidence to make informed health decisions,” said Brian Wommack, executive director of the CRN Foundation. “We hope consumers use these findings to better understand how nutrients like vitamin D support their goal of living a healthy lifestyle.”

“This growing body of research does not indicate that Vitamin D is a substitute for vaccines, mask wearing, social distancing, or other behaviors to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus,” adds Huber, “but the data does suggest that vitamin D levels may play a role, in combination with other therapies, in strengthening the immune system to resist the virus.”