| ▲ To prevent respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, the flu, and colds, a review paper published in Korea found that it is important to eat enough vitamins, including vitamin D, E, C and folic acid (a type of vitamin B group ).=DB) |
[메디컬투데이=이한희 기자] To prevent respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, flu, and colds, a review paper published in Korea found that it is important to consume enough vitamins, including vitamins D, E, C and folic acid (a type of vitamin B group). In particular, vitamin D helps prevent and treat respiratory diseases.
Professor Park Eun-joo from Kyungnam University’s Department of Food and Nutrition analyzed papers that studied the relationship between seven vitamins, including vitamin C, and respiratory viruses at home and abroad, and found that four vitamins, including vitamins D, E , and C. , and folic acid, beneficial in preventing respiratory diseases.
Professor Park’s team collected and analyzed 54 research papers on the relationship between respiratory viruses and various vitamins from international academic paper search sites (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, etc.) between January 2000 and June 2021.
In 24 papers that looked at the relationship between COVID-19 and various vitamins (18 for vitamin D, 4 for vitamin C, and 2 for folic acid), the vitamin was found to be effective in preventing COVID-19. Eight papers (3 for vitamin D, 1 for vitamin E, 3 for vitamin C, and 1 for folic acid) that tracked the relationship between colds and flu and vitamins concluded that the vitamin helps to prevent colds and flu.
The content of the research paper that four vitamins are beneficial for the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 is as follows.
People with vitamin D deficiency were five times more likely to get COVID-19 than those without a deficiency. For every 1% increase in vitamin D deficiency, the risk of dying from COVID-19 increased by 55 per 1 million patients. Also included was a research paper that showed that COVID-19 patients with low blood vitamin D levels had a longer hospital stay.
There have been no studies on the effect of vitamin E on COVID-19. However, there were more respiratory infections in the vitamin E intake group than in the vitamin E intake group.
The conclusion of 4 out of 6 papers that found a correlation between vitamin C and COVID-19 is that vitamin C reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection. The concentration of vitamin C in the blood of patients infected with COVID-19 was 1/5 of that of uninfected patients. In two papers that traced the relationship between folic acid and COVID-19, folic acid was found to have a preventive effect on COVID-19. There was also a paper that folic acid helps prevent pneumonia and colds.
In the thesis, Professor Park’s team said, “The conclusion of this study is that maintaining normal blood concentrations of vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin C, and folic acid is beneficial in preventing COVID-19, colds, and influenza (flu) ” and “incidence of respiratory diseases”. During this time, it is necessary to eat enough foods rich in four vitamins every day to maintain normal blood levels.”
The results of this study (The Role of Some Vitamins in Respiratory-Associated Viral Infections: A Narrative Review) were published in the latest issue of Clinical Nutrition Research, an English-language journal published by the Korean Society of Clinical Nutrition.
Medical Today Reporter Lee Han-hee (hnhn0414@mdtoday.co.kr)
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