Vitamin D: Its Role in Health and the Importance of Adequacy in Acute and Chronic Illness

The fact that we produce vitamin D in our skin in the presence of sunlight signifies how necessary it is to our health. Even though it seems easy enough to get, according to recent data published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in 24% of Americans, 37% of Canadians and 40% of Europeans [1]. Data from 2012 indicate that 50% of the world’s population are vitamin D insufficient. A deeper look reveals that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency vary by age, sex, ethnicity and geographic location, with reduced time spent outdoors and insufficient consumption of vitamin D-rich foods having the greatest impact on suboptimal levels [2]. The medical community is certainly testing more than it did in the past, naturally picking up on more deficiencies, and providing us with the opportunity to address this key biomarker of good health. This blog discusses sources of vitamin D, contributors to vitamin D deficiency, and its role in chronic and acute disease, especially its association with comorbidities that predict an increased risk of complications and poor outcomes to COVID-19.…


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