Add Vitamin D to bread and milk to help fight Covid.World news

Scientists are asking the minister to add vitamin D to common foods such as bread and milk to help fight Covid-19.

According to a group convened by Dr. Gareth Davies, a medical physics researcher at Imperial College London, government guidance that up to half of the UK’s population is vitamin D deficient and people should take supplements works. I have not.

According to some studies, low levels of vitamin D that our body produces in response to strong sunlight may increase the risk of catching the coronavirus and suffering more serious effects of infection. Last week, Spanish researchers found that 82% of 216 hospitalized patients had low vitamin D levels. However, the situation is mixed. Some studies have shown that vitamin D levels have little or no effect on Covid-19, influenza, and other respiratory illnesses.

Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults (soft bones that lead to deformity), and children with severe vitamin D deficiency have hypocalcemia (low blood calcium levels). It is easy to get sick and leads to attacks and heart failure.

However, with Public Health England (PHE) health For the past decade, social care has rejected the call to fortify foods such as milk, bread and orange juice. This is what is happening in Finland, Sweden, Australia and Canada.

“In my opinion, it’s clear that vitamin D can not only prevent the severity of the disease, but also the infection,” Davis said. “Especially because people are currently taking supplements, careful planning is required to effectively deploy fortification. Choosing the right foods to fortify will need to be done carefully.

“But it’s clear that current policies aren’t working. At least half of the population has vitamin D deficiency.”

Adrian Martineau, a professor of respiratory tract infections at Queen Mary University of London and not part of Davis’ group, is in a clinical trial to see if vitamin D can reduce the risk or severity of Covid-19. Is leading. Coronabit researchStarting last week, with the support of Barts Charity, Fischer Family Trust and AIM Foundation, we will follow over 5,000 people during the winter.

“The government recommends that the entire population take vitamin D supplements in the winter, and people in high-risk groups take it all year round,” Martineau said. “But we know that people don’t do it quite a few times. I also sometimes forget to take supplements and I’m breathing alive on this subject. Fortress is It’s a really good way to get rid of the shortage. “

Our body produces vitamin D in response to strong sunlight. In the UK, from October to March, it means that people need to rely on other sources: oily fish, eggs and dietary supplements.

Some foods, such as breakfast cereals and mushrooms, are fortified with vitamin D, and people in low-income households are entitled to free multivitamins. British white powder is already fortified with vitamins B1 (thiamine) and B3 (niacin), and last year the government added vitamin B9 (folic acid) to prevent spina bifida and other birth defects in the brain and spine. We have started discussions on.

2019 survey The University of Birmingham, led by health economist Magda Aguiar, has shown that if flour fortification is adopted, it will reduce cases of vitamin D deficiency by at least 25% over the next 90 years, saving about £ 65 million.

In 2017, Professor Luis Levy, Dean of Nutrition at PHE, responded to a call for strengthening, saying there was not enough evidence that vitamin D reduced the risk of respiratory infections.

The Ministry of Health was asked to comment, but did not respond.

The recruitment for clinical trials at Queen Mary University has recently been extended.For observer readers who want to know more, please email us [email protected]