Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, and recent research has suggested it may also help protect against severe COVID-19.
But how much is enough and how difficult is it to get the right amount of vitamin D?
“We know that a large percentage of the population has suboptimal vitamin D levels. In fact, as much as half of the US population may be deficient in vitamin D,” said Kristin Gustashaw, clinical dietitian at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. . “This can potentially lead to symptoms such as fatigue, fatigue, hair loss, delayed wound healing, decreased immune system health, muscle pain and more, with no other known causes.
“Part of the difficulty in maintaining vitamin D levels is that there are not a wide variety of foods that are high in vitamin D,” added Gustashaw in a medical center press release.
The vitamin is accessible to humans through certain foods, supplements, and even sunshine.
Food sources include egg yolks, milk, cheese, beef or veal liver and certain types of fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines. Other foods are fortified with vitamin D, including certain grains, bread, soy milk, and orange juice.
Gustashaw also recommends that people go out in the sun for at least 15 to 30 minutes a day, but says they should be sure to get a steady source of the nutrient from their diet and supplementation.
Adults should get a minimum of 600 IU of vitamin D every day and 800 IU if they are over 70 years old. Children should be given 600 IU every day. And infants up to the age of 12 months should receive 400 IU / day. Gustashaw says you can determine your vitamin D levels through a blood test.
If you’re low in vitamin D, it’s always best to talk to your healthcare provider or dietitian about the best way to increase your intake, according to experts at Rush University.
Certain medications can affect vitamin D absorption. These include steroids, the cholesterol-lowering drug cholestyramide, and the epileptic drugs phenobarbital and phenytoin.
While vitamin D toxicity is rare, there is no evidence that taking more than the upper limit of the recommended dosage is beneficial, the experts said. In some cases, excessive amounts of vitamin D can lead to kidney failure, calcification of soft tissues throughout the body, including in coronary arteries and heart valves, cardiac arrhythmias and even death.