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Covid-19 struck Beth Green just in time for Christmas, upending her annual holiday gatherings. She planned on hosting her extended family at her Derry Township home on Dec. 23. She was especially excited because it’s difficult to get two of her adult sons together with their hectic schedules. Green, an administrator at a long-term care facility, said her covid symptoms weren’t serious. She went ahead with altered plans to host. She wore an N95 mask. She told family to attend at their own risk. Some did. Some didn’t.

It is estimated that every eighth child suffers from a mental health disorder. Several predictors of children's mental problems have been identified, but much remains uncharted. Previous research suggests that low vitamin D levels in early childhood may be one factor increasing the risk of mental health problems in later life. A recent study presents new information on the association between vitamin D intake and mental health. A study by a team of researchers has investigated whether a daily vitamin D3 supplement higher than the recommended dose in early childhood reduces the risk of psychiatric symptoms at school age. The...

A study of more than 300,000 adults in the United Kingdom has found support for a causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and mortality. These findings suggest a need for public health strategies to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D in the population. Low vitamin D status has been linked to increased mortality, but mortality in the context of vitamin D deficiency remains unclear. Randomized controlled trials either fail to recruit people with severe deficiency or, because of ethical reasons, are prevented from doing so. Researchers conducted a nonlinear mendelian randomization study of 307,601 participants in the U.K. Biobank to...

"COVID-19 Mortality Risk Correlates Inversely with Vitamin D3 Status, and a Mortality Rate Close to Zero Could Theoretically Be Achieved at 50 ng/mL 25(OH)D3: Results of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" "Abstract Background: Much research shows that blood calcidiol (25(OH)D3) levels correlate strongly with SARS-CoV-2 infection severity. There is open discussion regarding whether low D3 is caused by the infection or if deficiency negatively affects immune defense. The aim of this study was to collect further evidence on this topic. Methods: Systematic literature search was performed to identify retrospective cohort as well as clinical studies on COVID-19 mortality rates versus...

New research from Trinity College and University of Edinburgh has examined the association between vitamin D and COVID-19, and found that ambient ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation (which is key for vitamin D production in the skin) at an individual's place of residence in the weeks before COVID-19 infection, was strongly protective against severe disease and death. Previous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with an increased susceptibility to viral and bacterial respiratory infections. Similarly, several observational studies found a strong correlation between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19. To overcome this, researchers were able to calculate "genetically-predicted" vitamin D level, that...

Doctor, former Kansas governor says coronavirus patients 'doing better' in testing with anti-malaria drug Dr. Jeff Colyer on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 President Trump calls the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine a ‘game changer’ in treating the coronavirus; reaction and analysis from former Kansas governor, practicing surgeon Dr. Jeff Colyer. Anti-malaria drugs ike hydroxychloroquine -- which are being used to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients -- are showing positive results, former Kansas governor and practicing surgeon Dr. Jeff Colyer said Wednesday. Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, Colyer said that data from testing at the University of Kansas...

  An important note No supplement will cure or prevent disease.With the 2019 coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, it’s especially important to understand that no supplement, diet, or other lifestyle modification other than social distancing and proper hygiene practices can protect you from COVID-19. Currently, no research supports the use of any supplement to protect against COVID-19 specifically.Your immune system consists of a complex collection of cells, processes, and chemicals that constantly defends your body against invading pathogens, including viruses, toxins, and bacteria (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source). Keeping your immune system healthy year round is key to preventing infection and disease. Making healthy...

In April 2005, a virulent strain of influenza hit a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital for men that’s midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. John J. Cannell, a psychiatrist there, observed with increasing curiosity as one infected ward after another was quarantined to limit the outbreak. Although 10 percent of the facility’s 1,200 patients ultimately developed the flu’s fever and debilitating muscle aches, none did in the ward that he supervised. WINTER WOES. Cold-weather wear and the sun’s angle in the winter sky limit how much ultraviolet light reaches the skin. This can add up to a deficiency in production...

MONDAY, April 4, 2016 -- Regular doses of vitamin D3 may improve heart function in heart failure patients, a new British study suggests. "These findings could make a significant difference to the care of heart failure patients," said study leader Dr. Klaus Witte, from the University of Leeds School of Medicine. "It is the first evidence that vitamin D3 can improve heart function of people with heart muscle weakness -- known as heart failure."

Most seniors may suffer from some degree of vitamin D deficiency, according to a study from researchers at University of California at Davis and Rutgers University. For the study the researchers surveyed 400 men and women with an average age of 76 in either good health or with mild cognitive impairment. They found that nearly all of the participants showed low levels of vitamin D with 26 percent displaying a deficiency and 35 percent show what they classified as insufficiency. "This work, and that of others, suggests that there is enough evidence to recommend that people in their 60s and...

Dr. Berg discusses his theory of what may be one cause of dementia, high blood pressure and stroke and how to avoid it.

...Yet a very small study out of UCLA is offering a glimmer of hope for those with what is often a hopeless diagnosis. Nine out of the 10 patients involved in the study, who were in various stages of dementia, say their symptoms were reversed after they participated in a rigorous program. The program included things like optimizing Vitamin D levels in the blood, using DHA supplements to bridge broken connections in the brain, optimizing gut health, and strategic fasting to normalize insulin levels. A few months after starting the extreme program, patients in the study, aged 55 to 75,...

We've seen promising moves towards developing a universal or near-universal influenza vaccine, but researchers at the Donald P. Shiley BioScience Center have taken a different tack to ward of the crafty virus. Although the flu virus actively keeps the immune system from detecting it for a few days, giving it time to gain a foothold, the researchers have found that a powerful synthetic protein, known as EP67, can kick start the immune system so that it reacts almost immediately to all strains of the virus. Previously, EP67 had primarily been used to help activate the immune response by being added...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Vitamin D and calcium have been hailed as a possible antidote for cancer, heart disease and more, but a panel of US and Canadian doctors said Tuesday that the duo's only sure benefit is bone health. After reviewing about 1,000 studies on the supposed links between low vitamin D levels and higher risk of serious diseases, the panel concluded that they showed inconsistent results, sometimes due to shoddy research methods. The experts also issued new guidelines -- the first since 1997 -- for North Americans, saying people should take between 700 and 1,300 milligrams of calcium and...

Previously I have highlighted the benefits vitamin D has with regard to improving the immune response and helping keep infections such as flu at bay. It has been mooted that the upsurge in viral infections during the winter is connected with the generally lower vitamin D levels at this time. The traditional view is that winter infections are due to “indoor crowding.”However, research indicates that flu epidemics do not occur in the summer in crowded workplaces despite the presence of the flu virus around people who should be susceptible to infection. This is based on research by the Centers for...

A pair of new studies has uncovered evidence that low levels of vitamin D could lead to poor blood sugar control among diabetics and increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome among seniors. ..... More than 90 percent of the patients, who ranged in age from 36 to 89, had either vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, the authors found, despite the fact that they all had had routine primary care visits before their specialty visit. Just about 6 percent of the patients were taking a vitamin D supplement at the time of their visit, the research team noted, and those...

> Magnesium is a must. The diets of all Americans are likely to be deficient. Even a mild deficiency causes sensitiveness to noise, nervousness, irritability, mental depression, confusion, twitching, trembling, apprehension, insomnia, muscle weakness and cramps in the toes, feet, legs, or fingers. Folic acid deficiency can lead to neural tube closure defects (NTDs) and anemia. Zinc deficiency affects immune function, contributing to as many as 800,000 child deaths per year. Iodine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of brain damage and it can significantly lower the IQ of whole populations. >

Effects of vitamin D deficiency amplified by shortage of estrogenResearchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. In a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic." On issues ranging from the health of your immune system to prevention of heart disease and even vulnerability to influenza, vitamin D is now seen as one of the most critical nutrients for overall health. But it's also one of those most likely to be deficient – especially during winter when...

The claims have been sensational. Martin Mittelstaedt checks up on the research behind the hype ### In the summer of 1974, brothers Frank and Cedric Garland had a heretical brainwave. The young epidemiologists were watching a presentation on death rates from cancer county by county across the United States. As they sat in a lecture hall at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore looking at the colour-coded cancer maps, they noticed a striking pattern, with the map for colon cancer the most pronounced. Counties with high death rates were red; those with low rates were blue. Oddly, the nation was almost...