Why boosting vitamin D levels is essential for good immunity

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a renewed interest in the benefits of Vitamin D. Reports linking a deficiency in vitamin D to COVID-19 have inundated our social media feeds — so why is this vitamin important? And why do we need to have our levels checked? Dr. Taz Bhatia, an immune support and wellness physician, explains the benefits and myths of this key nutrient. Vitamin D plays a number of critical roles in the body. “It helps us fight off bacteria and viruses, and it protects us from autoimmune diseases,” Bhatia says. It’s also beneficial for bone health. “Patients that don't get enough vitamin D often have more rashes,” she explains. “They have more hormone imbalances, and these are also the patients who are getting sick more frequently."

Video Transcript

TAZ BHATIA: There's been a lot of information about vitamin D recently. And there's a lot of confusion, too, about who needs vitamin D and who doesn't need vitamin D. I'll be going through some of the benefits and the myths about vitamin D.

Vitamin D plays a number of critical roles in the body. It is so connected to our immune system and the way our immune system functions. It helps us fight off bacteria and viruses, and it also protects us from autoimmune diseases. Now, it is true that we do absorb vitamin D from the sun and we convert it into a form that our body use. But that honestly is probably only at about 30% to 40% of the vitamin D that we need.

Now, you may be wondering how to get your vitamin D levels up. You can supplement, but you have to be really careful. For children, you want to stay under 400 units a day of vitamin D. For adults, we want to stay under about 1,000 units a day. But it's really important, even if you start these lower amounts, to get your levels checked by your doctor.

These are some of the implications of having too much vitamin D. You can be at risk for things like kidney stones or even issues with your bones, having issues with bone turnover or bone loss. Patients that don't get enough vitamin D often have more rashes. They have more hormone imbalances. And these are also the patients who are getting sick more frequently. It is really critical to check it and make sure it's in the right place.

Now, remember, supplementation is not the only way to get vitamin D levels up. There a lot of great foods that help do that as well. Fatty fishes, like salmon and tuna have vitamin D in it. And then many nuts and seeds, like almonds and even pumpkin seeds and chia seeds, provide some level of vitamin D as well.

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