Which dietary supplements can help prevent COVID-19?

There is currently not enough evidence to support taking supplements of any kind to prevent or treat coronavirus. In this report by SADE OGUNTOLA, experts say that the decision to take multivitamins, including dietary supplements for those who are especially vulnerable to the virus, provides few benefits

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has been quite the motivator for building a strong immune system. So, it is common to see people pick multivitamins and other supplements said to give the immune system that extra boost. There is currently no full-proof protection against the coronavirus, but taking multivitamins, omega-3, probiotics or vitamin D supplements may lessen the risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 infection — at least among women.

In a large population study, the researchers indicated that taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins or vitamin D was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection: by 14 per cent, 12 per cent, 13 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, after accounting for potentially influential factors, including underlying conditions and usual diet. But no such effects were observed among those taking vitamin C, zinc, or garlic supplements.

And when the researchers looked specifically at sex, age and weight (BMI), the protective associations for probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins and vitamin D were observed only in women of all ages and weights. No such clear associations were seen in men.

Despite some differences, the same overall patterns were mirrored in both the US (45,757) and Swedish (27,373) subscribers. Also, the equivalent figures for the US and Sweden were a reduced risk of:18 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively for probiotics; 21 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, for omega-3 fatty acids; 12 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively for multivitamins; and 24 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, for vitamin D supplements.

Chairman, Oyo State Covid-19 task force, Professor Temitope Alonge stated that a study found that people that had COVID-19 were Vitamin D deficient, when they were assessed and the reason Vitamin D was put to the treatment offer for individuals with COVID-19 in Nigeria was to support their recovery from the infection.

According to him, Vitamin D has two major functions, one of which is to enable the body to mount up defence against infections, be it from virus, bacterial, or protozoan.

Professor Chinedum Babalola, Vice chancellor, Chrisland University, Abeokuta stated that vitamins like Vitamin C and D as well as supplements like zinc had been reported helpful in boosting the body’s immune system

Babalola, a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacokinetics, said studies have shown that if an individual has a decreased level of Vitamin D in the system, such was more likely to be hospitalised if he becomes infected with covid-19.

She declared that just as Vitamin D deficiency was linked with increased severity of COVID-19, same way supplements containing zinc also help to stop the replication of the coronavirus in the human body.

However, she said that dietary supplements can help to support a healthy immune system, but whether specific supplements might be associated with a lower risk of catching SARS-CoV-2 is not known.

For the study, the researchers drew on adult users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app to see if regular supplement users were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2. The app was launched in the UK, the US, and Sweden in March 2020 to capture self-reported information on the evolution of the pandemic.

Initially, it recorded the location, age and core health risk factors of its users. But as time went on, subscribers were asked to provide daily updates on a range of issues, including symptoms, coronavirus test results, and healthcare. People without obvious symptoms were also encouraged to use it.

The researchers, for the purposes of this study, analysed information supplied by 372,720 UK subscribers to the app about their regular use of dietary supplements throughout May, June, and July 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic as well as any coronavirus swab test results.

Between May and July, 175,652 UK subscribers regularly took dietary supplements;197,068 did not. Around two thirds (67 per cent) were women and over half were overweight (BMI of 27). In all, 23,521 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 349,199 tested negative between May and July.

The researchers, however, said this was an observational study, and as such, could not establish cause. They also acknowledged the study’s several limitations, including that the study relied on self reported data and a self selected group. No information was collected on supplement doses or ingredients either.

The researchers, who called for large clinical trials to inform evidence-based therapeutic recommendations, said although the observed effects were modest, they were significant.

Professor Sumantra Ray, Executive Director, NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, which co-owns the journal said: “We know that a range of micronutrients, including vitamin D, are essential for a healthy functioning immune system. This, in turn, is key to prevention of, and recovery from, infections.

He stated that till date, there is little convincing evidence that taking nutritional supplements has any therapeutic value beyond maintaining the body’s normal immune response, and that moreover this study wasn’t primarily designed to answer questions about the role of nutritional supplements in COVID-19.

Professor Sumantra Ray, however, cautioned: “This is still an emerging area of research that warrants further rigorous study before firm conclusions can be drawn about whether specific nutritional supplements might lessen the risk of COVID-19 infection.”

Previously in another study, research at the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) and collaborators at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and in Orange County, CA, shows people with high omega-3 index less likely to die from COVID-19.

The report published in the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids gave the first direct evidence that higher omega-3 blood levels may reduce risk of death from covid-19 infection.

This study had included 100 patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 for whom admission of blood samples had been stored. Clinical outcomes for these patients were obtained and blood was analyzed for the Omega-3 Index (O3I, red blood cell membrane EPA+DHA levels) at Omega Quant Analytics. Fourteen of the patients died.

The researchers found that relative risk for death was about four times higher in those with a lower O3I compared to those with higher levels. This suggests that these nutritionally available marine fatty acids may help reduce risk for adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

However, experts have stressed that more work still needs to be done on the theory. Many are now calling for a larger trial to assess whether supplements could have a protective effect against COVID-19, as it was still hard to say conclusively whether or not low vitamin D levels were the cause, or an effect, of the disease’s intensity.

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