Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, and recent research has suggested that it can 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 levels of vitamin D. In fact, up to half the population in the United States may be deficient in vitamin D,” said Kristin Gustashaw, clinical nutritionist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “This can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, tiredness, hair loss, delayed wound healing, decreased immune health, muscle pain and more, with no other known causes.
“Part of the difficulty in maintaining vitamin D levels is because there is not a wide variety of foods that contain a lot of vitamin D,” added Gustashaw in a medical center press release.
The vitamin is accessible to people through some foods, supplements and even the sun.
Food sources include egg yolks, milk, cheese, beef or calf liver and certain fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines. Other foods are fortified with vitamin D, including certain cereals, breads, soy milk and orange juice.
Gustashaw also recommends that people should go out in the sun for at least 15 to 30 minutes a day, but says that they should be sure to get a constant source of the nutrient from their diet and supplementation.
Adults should receive a minimum of 600 IU vitamin D daily and 800 IU if you are over 70 years old. Children should receive 600 IU per day. And babies up to 12 months should receive 400 IU / day. Gustashaw says you can determine your vitamin D levels through a blood test.
If you have low levels of vitamin D, it is always best to talk to your doctor or nutritionist about the best way to increase your intake, experts at Rush University said.
Certain medications can affect the absorption of vitamin D. These include steroids, cholestyramide, cholesterol-lowering medication, and medications for phenobarbital and phenytoin seizures.
While vitamin D toxicity is rare, there is no evidence that taking more than the upper recommended dose limit is beneficial, experts said. In some cases, excessive amounts of vitamin D can cause kidney failure, calcification of soft tissues throughout the body, including coronary vessels and heart valves, cardiac arrhythmias and even death.