Several human nutrition researches specifically focusing on COVID-19 have been published in scientific journals. They gave people a good direction regarding how to integrate nutrition to the response to the pandemic and stay well.
Vitamin D
The University of Chicago’s research published in September showed convincing effectiveness of vitamin D on COVID-19 prevention. Subjects with sufficient vitamin D status had a lower risk for getting tested positive (Ref.1).
In this cohort study of 489 patients who had a vitamin D level measured in the year before COVID-19 testing, the relative risk of testing positive for COVID-19 was 1.77 times greater for patients with likely deficient vitamin D status compared with patients with likely sufficient vitamin D status, a difference that was statistically significant.
Overall, 71 participants (15%) tested positive for COVID-19. In multivariate analysis, testing positive for COVID-19 was associated with increasing age up to age 50 years (relative risk, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.09; P = .02); non-White race (relative risk, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.26-5.12; P = .009), and likely deficient vitamin D status (relative risk, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.12-2.81; P = .02) compared with likely sufficient vitamin D status.
In May, the cross-national analysis published by British researchers and Northwestern University both showed a significant relationship between low average vitamin D levels and the higher number of COVID19 cases, particularly COVID-19 mortality rates, per head of population. (Ref. 2)
Probiotics
A clinical study in Italy showed probiotics helped reduce COVID-19 symptoms in 7 days and also avoid severe illness that might require intensive care (Ref. 3).
The study enrolled seventy COVID-19 patients, hospitalized between March 9 and April 4, 2020 at Sapienza University of Rome. These patients had a fever and required non-invasive oxygen therapy. 42 of them received hydroxychloroquine, antibiotics and tocilizumab, alone or in combination. The other group of 28 patients received the same therapy added with an oral probiotic supplement.
Around 90% of 28 patients in the “probiotic” group actually showed remission of symptoms, including diarrhea, in 3 days. The percentage reached 100% on the seventh day while the one in the control group was lower than 50%.
The estimated risk of developing respiratory failure in patients treated with the oral probiotic supplement was eight times lower than those in the control group, according to the odds ratio statistics. The prevalence of ICU usage and mortality were both higher among patients who were not treated with the probiotic formula.
Dr. Giancarlo Ceccarelli, a specialist in infectious diseases at the university, told Nutraingredients.com that “Our preliminary results evidenced on improved survival rate and a lower risk of transfer to an intensive resuscitation for patients supplemented with the probiotic compared with those on standard treatment only.”
Reference
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2770157
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40520-020-01570-8
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00389/full
No comments:
Post a Comment