In a new study from King’s College London, researchers found that 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.
But taking any of vitamin C, zinc, or garlic supplements wasn’t linked to a lower risk of testing positive for the virus.
There have been plenty of celebrity endorsements of the use of dietary supplements to both ward off and treat COVID-19 infection since the start of the pandemic.
In the UK alone, market share rose by 19.5% in the period leading up to the first national ‘lockdown’ on March 23 last year, with sales of vitamin C rising by 110% and those of multivits by 93%.
Similarly, zinc supplement sales rose by 415% in the first week of March, at the height of COVID-19 fears in the U.S.
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 isn’t known.
In the study, the team 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.
They analyzed information supplied by 372,720 UK users 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.
The researchers found taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivits or vitamin D was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection: by 14%, 12%, 13% and 9%, respectively.
No such effects were observed among those taking vitamin C, zinc, or garlic supplements.
They also found the protective associations for probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivits 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) users.
The team says that a range of micronutrients, including vitamin D, are essential for a healthy functioning immune system. This, in turn, is key to the prevention of, and recovery from, infections.
If you care about COVID-19, please read studies about two vitamins and this common drug may help fight COVID-19 and findings of lack of this vitamin may increase your risk of COVID-19.
For more information about COVID-19 treatment and prevention, please see recent studies about this drug may help prevent serious illness in COVID-19 and results showing that common gut inflammation linked to COVID-19.
The study is published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. One author of the study is Panayiotis Louca.
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