Innovatia

Vitamin D is the sunlight vitamin. When ultra- violet light falls on the skin, it manufactures a precursor of vitamin D that goes to the liver and kidneys, which make active vitamin D – or, more accurately, a hormone called calcitriol. Deficien- cy of vitamin D results in rickets in children, bone disease in adults, such as osteoporosis, and a greatly weakened immune system. Cod liver oil is a rich source of vitamin D. In the past, it has been used extensively during winter to protect children against colds and flus, and it is also es- sential for strong antimicrobial immunity. The seasonal increase in vitamin D deficiency amplifies the risk from respiratory viruses, in- cluding the COVID-19 coronavirus. More than 25 clinical trials of vitamin D sup- plementation for the prevention of acute res- piratory tract infections have been conducted during the past two decades. In 2017, a system- atic review and meta-analysis concluded vita- min D supplementation was safe and protected against acute respiratory tract infections, with the most severely deficient patients experienc- ing the greatest benefit. People with vitamin D deficiency are much more likely to suffer serious symptoms upon contracting respiratory viruses. In particular, el- derly people, especially those in aged care, are at risk of vitamin D deficiency, unless given ad- equate supplementation. Others who typically cannot manufacture enough include people of colour, people restricted to indoors, the obese, diabetics and others with chronic diseases. The Nordic countries have public health pol- icies around vitamin D supplementation and food fortification. Countries like Scandinavia also have among the lowest mortality rates attributed to the SARS – COV2 coronavirus. By

contrast, countries that do not have a public health policy of vitamin D supplementation in winter face increased risk of viral respiratory infections and deaths due to influenza-like vi- ruses, including COVID-19. Public health programs of vitamin D supple- mentation protect elderly people and health- care workers from serious illness and death and allow for less-severe lockdown and economic destruction. In fact, overall, they lead to great- er productivity and economic gains, even when severe non-COVID-19 viral infections dominate.

out zinc, our white cells are limited in their production of antibodies and our genes can- not express and repair themselves amid viral onslaught. Researchers have concluded that “the enumerated evidence from the literature strongly suggests great benefits of zinc supple- mentation [in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19]. Given that it is readily available and cost-ef- fective, there is a strong case for global health authorities executing a CD-Zinc supplementa- tion program worldwide. There is no excuse for denying the people of the world a new, cheap, available and sci- ence-based approach to assist in our war against the pandemic and its attendant pande- monium. We need not wait for all the new clin- ical studies to emerge because there is more than ample experience around the current science and vast evidentiary proof already in existence. We cannot wait while watching the bodies drop. I have been inspired by the following state- ment made by Albert Szen–Gyorgyi, who dis- covered vitamin C in the 1930s: “Discovery con- sists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”

Supplementation with readily-available vita- min D is effective, cheap and extremely safe. In fact, no toxicity has been reported with doses of up to 4,000 iu per day. The myriad mechanisms of action of vitamin D are well understood. In fact, it has now been reclassified as a hormone (I call it Hormone D or its proper name, calcitriol). Logically, rou- tine testing of people at risk of insufficiency should be conducted. If the level of Hormone D is low, it should be medically corrected with supplementation, just as is done with insulin in diabetes and thyroid hormone in hypothy- roidism. If vitamin D were classified as a drug named calcitriol, it would likely be prescribed extensively. The immediate introduction of public health measures to improve vitamin D status globally is essential, particularly in settings where pro- found deficiency is common. Finally, to zinc, a critical trace element in the fight against COVID-19 and future pandemics. It plays a fundamental role in protecting us against invaders. I use the metaphor of zinc as the moat, turrets, gates and locks to the fort – without it, we are unprotected. Zinc creates a powerful killer mucous that lines our airways from the nose to the airway’s final passages. It holds our airway-lining cells together. With- “Surprising in itself is the range of purposes vitamin C serves in the medical arena, and particularly when it comes to countering coronavirus diseases.”

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INNOVATIA

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INNOVATIA

| Health & Wellbeing

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