Vitamin D helps the body fight coronavirus, major Israeli study claims

Vitamin D helps the body fight coronavirus, major Israeli study claims 'Sunshine' vitamin is like a steroid, researcher says, urging public to head outdoors; another scientist urges caution, saying other factors may be at play timesofisrael

Good levels of vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin, help people to fight the coronavirus more quickly and effectively and reduce chances of hospitalization, Israeli researchers have concluded.

However, others are cautioning broad conclusions, saying other factors may be involved.

Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern of Bar Ilan University told The Times of Israel on Sunday that vitamin D is “like a steroid,” after publishing what she says is the world’s largest population-based study of its kind.

She embarked on the joint study with Leumit Health Services to probe whether there is a basis to suggestions — heard throughout the pandemic — that vitamin D may prove helpful.

Her team studied a 7,807-strong sample of Israelis who were tested for the coronavirus. It found that the average vitamin D level for people who screened negative was in the internationally-accepted “adequate” range, while the average for those who tested positive fell in the “inadequate” category.

Vitamin D levels of less than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood are considered inadequate.

Frenkel-Morgenstern said that people in her sample who tested negative were, on average, within the adequate range, showing a mean vitamin D count of 21 nanograms per milliliter. Those who tested positive were, on average, under the adequate level, with a mean vitamin D count of 19 nanograms per milliliter.

People who went on to be hospitalized after their test had a lower mean vitamin D count: 17 nanograms per milliliter.

The study, newly peer-reviewed and published in The FEBS Journal, compared people who got a negative result to those who ended up both testing positive and being hospitalized, and reported a stark difference in vitamin D levels....