The lungs and respiratory system are an important part of the body. You can’t live without them. There’s debate on how many days you can survive without food, how many without water. But, for oxygen? More than a few minutes and you’re done. And with COVID-19, the awareness around respiratory issues is higher than ever. However, by upping your intake of just a few vitamins, you can help prevent respiratory illnesses from striking.
A Bigger Vitamin D Intake
Interestingly, United Kingdom Secretary of Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock called for an examination of vitamin D as a way to fight against coronavirus. Before, Secretary Hancock had dismissed vitamin D as being ineffective.
Now, a self-reported study found that vitamin D actually can help with respiratory issues–but it depends on the form it takes. Surprisingly, vitamin D from your diet won’t help at all. On the other hand, vitamin D in supplement form will.
Lead in science communications for the UK’s COVID-19 taskforce, Shane McAuliffe, says that, “acknowledging the limitations of this data, it does add further to a growing body of interest and evidence for the role of vitamin D in respiratory health.”
He also thinks that “with the low cost and low risk of adverse events, it seems sensible to provide supplementation of this key vitamin, particularly to those most likely to be deficient.” (1)
A Higher Vitamin A & E Intake
The Survey 8 Years In The Making
Starting in 2008, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (NDNS RP) began. Concluding in 2016, this eight-year examination collected data from 6115 adults.
Website MDLinx explains that “the NDNS RP is a rolling survey that collects information annually on all food and drink consumed from around 1000 randomly selected people living in private households across the UK.”
Because the information was self-reported, the respiratory conditions given were broad in scope and not necessarily confirmed by doctors. Both long and short-term conditions were reported, including things like colds.
33 people in the study reported themselves to have respiratory disorders. (1)
How Did Vitamins A & E work?
Unlike vitamin D, vitamin A & E could help prevent respiratory ailments when ingested both through supplement form and from diet. MDLinx says that “major dietary sources of vitamin A include liver, whole milk, and cheese, as well as carrots, dark green leafy vegetables, and orange-colored fruits. Major dietary sources of vitamin E include vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds.”
Furthermore, the respondents with respiratory complaints were much less likely to be taking supplements for vitamins A, E, or D. (2)
Implications
“Further research is required to assess the implications of the current study in the context of the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic using data from longitudinal cohorts,” writes the study’s authors. “Our study also highlights the need for further data collection on nutrition and respiratory disorders to cover wider geographical areas and high-risk groups, including a focus on other ethnicities.”
Furthermore, the study examined how BMI might impact results. There were no statistically significant links between either BMI and vitamin intake or BMI and respiratory difficulties. (2)
