The beneficial effects of normal vitamin D levels on bone metabolism have been known for a long time. Only recently, however, it has been shown that vitamin D is used in the prevention of a number of diseases of civilization – cardiovascular, cancer and infectious.
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According to Professor Ondřej Topolčan, Deputy Minister for Science and Research at the University Hospital Pilsen, vitamin D is also important in covid-19.
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“It has been shown to be able to block some of the ways in which the virus enters a cell. Its normal level is a protective mechanism. The importance of the French Medical Academy’s recommendation of 22 May this year is important – it strongly recommends that a suspect infected with coronavirus be tested for vitamin D immediately, in patients over 70 years of age receive a high dose and in patients under 70 years of age regularly units per day, “the expert described for the Report List.
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According to him, similar conclusions regarding the effects of vitamin D on covid-19 are also made by British medical staff – it helped to reduce the number of serious cases and also had a preventive effect against the development of the disease. However, most people in European countries suffer from low levels of vitamin D, and the Czechia is no exception.
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Therefore, the research team of the Department of Immunochemical Diagnostics at the University Hospital in Pilsen also focused on this substance when examining antibodies against coronavirus in hospital staff.
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“We found that about 40 percent of 1,500 people have normal vitamin D levels. About 10 percent of those examined had a critical deficiency. These are warning numbers, “says Ondřej Topolčan. Experts also performed vitamin D tests on hundreds of people who had suffered from covid-19.
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“In the case of severe conditions, the level was almost always very low to immeasurable. It was low in people with a normal course – practically no one had a normal level of vitamin D in any case, “he adds.
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According to him, the results give room for the hypothesis that the coronavirus consumes the organism very quickly, but points out that there is not enough evidence for such a claim.
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“The certainty is that a lack of vitamin D worsens all defense mechanisms – it allows inflammatory agents to be largely washed away and cellular immunity is suppressed,” says Professor Topolčan.
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According to him, regular monitoring and maintaining sufficient levels of vitamin D generally helps to fight infections.
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The sun is not enough
People can ask their doctor for a vitamin D test. In the period from mid-May to the beginning of September, the organism usually obtains it sufficiently from sunlight, but in the rest of the year such an supply is minimal.
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“It’s a misconception that I get vitamin D in the winter in the mountains when the sun bounces off the snow – it doesn’t matter how much sun the sun shines on me, but what angle the rays make with the earth’s surface. The minimum angle is 49 degrees – it is in our country from mid-May to about mid-September, but not in another period, “explains the professor.
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Vitamins can be supplemented in food by food, such as fish, cheese or milk. Vitamin D preparations in the form of drops or capsules are available in pharmacies.
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