The current situation of confinement due to the coronavirus means for many that they hardly see sunlight. People who do not have a garden or a patio at home, who go out to the streets only and exclusively to do essential shopping or who cannot boast of having a terrace where at least the sun hits their face, may wonder if this lack of sun can take its toll on them. More than anything because by not receiving a ray from the sun, it is difficult for your body to generate vitamin D , one of the great ones involved in bone health. Well, is it necessary to worry about this at this precise moment? Can you get vitamin D by another alternative way to the sun? Do we need to supplement? Let’s go step by step.
“Vitamin D has generated increasing interest in recent years, not only because of its main function related to the maintenance of calcium metabolism , but also because of its extraskeletal effects. Although historically it has been considered a vitamin, it is actually a steroid hormone that constitutes a true hormonal axis with systemic and local actions in different organs. The main biochemical forms are vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) ”, tells us Dr. Elena Cuesta Narváez, a rheumatologist at the Vithas Virgen del Mar Hospital in Almería and a member of Top Doctors. It is essential for the normal development of the skeleton both when the baby is in the mother’s womb and during childhood and adolescence. It is also important for maintaining bone health in adults.
Therefore, vitamin D deficiency has effects on bone health such as osteoporosis, osteomalacia and an increased risk of fractures . However, Narváez also points out that its deficiency has been associated with diseases such as asthma, cancer (breast, prostate, colon and rectum), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, disease of Crohn’s, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus), infections (mainly respiratory) and liver diseases.
And how do we get vitamin D? It is at this moment when the sun enters the scene, the one that barely touches us these days. As explained by Anna Bach, professor of the UOC (Open University Catalunya) Health Sciences Studies, this vitamin acts on the metabolism allowing the absorption of calcium “and, to obtain it naturally, sunlight is needed , since, when it comes into contact with the skin, it generates this vitamin through a series of metabolic processes ”.
“ It is estimated that brief exposure to the sun (10-15 minutes a day) on the arms and face is equivalent to the intake of 200IU of vitamin D. However, this depends on other variables such as skin type, latitude, season of the year, time of day and the use of sunscreen. To a lesser extent, it can be obtained from food, both of animal and vegetable origin ”, Narváez points out.
Among the foods that provide vitamin D, Alicia Aguilar, professor in the UOC’s Health Sciences Studies, recommends the following: “ blue fish (can be canned or canned) such as sardines, anchovies, anchovies, tuna… There are also dairy products (some are also enriched with vitamin D) or eggs . All of them, in addition to being easy to preserve and being generally liked by the whole family, can be eaten alone or as part of various recipes, combined with other foods, thus contributing to a more varied diet ”, he points out.
Another idea that surrounds us is directly taking a vitamin D supplement. Would it be advisable? ” At the current moment of confinement and without having previous values of vitamin D, supplementation should not be extended to the entire population since it is a short and limited period in time , except for situations or intercurrent pathologies that require it ( for example, an elderly man with a hip fracture). Therefore, it should not be a concern since we will return to our usual life shortly and also in a season where it will be possible to expose ourselves to the sun ”, says the rheumatologist.
As the doctor tells us, there is currently some controversy about which are the optimal values of Vitamin D, although in general, the consensus is that these should be greater than 30 ng / ml. Below this figure, supplementation would be justified and it is the doctor who should do it.
In line with vitamin D supplements, these days publications have circulated recommending taking them to combat the coronavirus. The AESAN (Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition) is clear in this regard and the following can be read on its website : “The AESAN reminds consumers that food supplements are foods whose purpose is to supplement the normal diet. These products cannot attribute properties to prevent, treat or cure a human disease, nor refer to such properties at all. There are no food supplements that prevent, treat or cure coronavirus infection and, therefore, there can be no product on the market with such claims . “
However, the study Vitamin D supplementation to Prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of Individual participant data (vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute infections of the respiratory tract examination systematic and meta – analysis of data individual participants ), published on February 15, 2017 in The BMJ , a medical journal published weekly by the British Medical Association, it was concluded that supplementation with vitamin D protected against acute respiratory tract infection in general. Of course, those who benefited the most from this were patients with a severe vitamin D deficiency and those who did not receive bolus doses. These doses are those that are given quickly, over a very short period of time.
“Until that moment of unconfinement arrives, we can sunbathe in our houses (balconies, windows) for 15 minutes a day, exposing arms and legs without using sunscreen. Those who have to go outside to buy, work or walk the dog can take advantage of that little walk to sunbathe, ” says Dr. Narváez.
