In early September last year (4th of September 2020), an article on The Australian was urging the government to recommend supplementation of Vitamin-D for all Australians because “…Research from around the world is showing that Vitamin-D can play an essential role in both building immunity to the virus in the first place and also reducing the impact of the disease on those who do fall ill…” Those are the words of Prof Ian Brighthope from The National Institute of Integrative Medicine’s (NIIM) (1).
In February 2021, a new study was published in the scientific journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology (2). The study titled “The effect of Vitamin-D supplementation on acute respiratory tract infection in older Australian adults: an analysis of data from the D-Health Trial” is the largest of its kind to study the relationship between Vitamin-D and respiratory infection. The study showed that the supplements might shorten the length of infection slightly and ease the severity of those illnesses.
Lead researcher and head of QIMR Berghofer’s Cancer Aetiology and Prevention group, Professor Rachel Neale, said: “The findings suggest that Vitamin-D might give the immune system a little boost, but supplementing the general population with Vitamin-D is unlikely to protect people from getting sick in the first place and won’t markedly improve the speed of recovery” (3). This study was performed just before the start of the pandemic, but the effect on the immune system could be also beneficial in the case of COVID-19.
There has been quite a lot of controversy over Vitamin-D and how much of it we need in our bloodstream, and the findings in this recent study are suggesting that more is not better in this case and that the use of routine supplement of Vitamin-D to the whole Australian population is maybe not the best approach.
Here at Allergy Test Australia, we are here to help you get all the right information you need to make your decision to find a better version of yourself during this difficult time. So before going ahead with the Vitamin-D supplements, why are you not using our Vitamin-D test to check the amount of Vitamin-D in your bloodstream? Using our test, you will see if you are deficient in this vitamin and need any Vitamin-D supplements. We are always suggesting checking with your GP before starting any vitamin supplements or diet changes. So, what you are waiting for? Try our test today and start your journey to find a better version of yourself.
References
2) https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(20)30380-6/fulltext
