Covid and vitamin D: What is vitamin D? How does a deficiency impact covid?

 

What is vitamin D?

Vitamin D helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in your body.

This vitamin is needed to keep your bones, teeth and muscles healthy.

A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities in children.

Bone pain caused by a lack of vitamin D is called osteomalacia in adults.

The body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors.

However, during the winter months, people are unable to get sufficient levels of vitamin D from sunlight.

Instead, people can top up their vitamin D levels from a small number of food sources including:

• Oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel
• Red meat
• Liver
• Egg yolks
• Fortified foods

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