COVID-19: Top 4 Nutrients for Reducing Severity

We’ve learned a lot after a full year of dealing with COVID-19.

Wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands can greatly reduce your risk of contracting it.

But there’s more you can do to stay safe….

(Or to at least reduce your odds of having a severe case if you do get sick.)

And now researchers have identified four key nutrients that are critical for helping to defend yourself against COVID-19.

Vitamin D keeps making headlines because of its role in COVID-19.

Over the past year, studies have shown that a deficiency in vitamin D increases your risk of contracting COVID-19, of having more severe infection, and of dying from it.

In fact, many medical professionals believe that increasing your vitamin D levels is key to keeping you from being struck down with this illness.

And I’m sure you may already know that  vitamin is hailed for its immune-boosting properties. But it can do more than shield you from the cold and flu.

A study published in the journal Nutrients determined that taking vitamin C can help reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms. It can also help prevent pneumonia, a serious side effect of COVID-19.

Additionally, most people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 are low in vitamin C.

Another key immune nutrient is zinc.

As with vitamin C, a deficiency is zinc can increase the severity of COVID-19. Fortunately, researchers have found that using zinc as an add on therapy can improve outcomes in mild to moderate cases of COVID-19—including reducing the risk of mortality.

Last but not least, vitamin K seems to be essential for people with COVID-19.

People who are hospitalized with COVID-19 tend to have low levels of vitamin K, and a deficiency can predict a higher mortality rate in people with COVID-19.

This could be because vitamin K is important for preventing blood clots and keeping your lungs healthy—and blood clots are a dangerous side effect of COVID-19.

All of these nutrients—vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin K—are critical for your body, whether COVID-19 is in the picture or not.

But the role they play in either preventing infection, or reducing the severity of infection, make them invaluable during this season of our lives.

 

P.S. Could arthritis drugs really help fight COVID-19? Learn all of the surprising details, here.