With the world concerned about the continued fight against the COVID-19 virus, it is more important than ever to engage in research related best practices in prevention and treatment. World-renowned researcher, Dr. Paul Marik, recently published results of a study that shows that melatonin and vitamin D are both effective in prevention and a part of treatment of COVID-19.
Dr. Marik serves on the medical faculty and Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He also co-founded the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which focuses on identifying research-based strategies for treating the illness worldwide. A researcher with over 500 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Marik is recognized as one of the leaders in studying COVID-19.
His recently published research showed that patients taking melatonin were less likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 and had lower overall rates of mortality than others. Part of this protective function may come from melatonin’s anti-inflammatory properties as some of the biggest complications from COVID-19 originate from the body’s cytokine storm response, a severe inflammatory response. While most people think of melatonin for its properties of helping sleep, it also has a number of other benefits including antioxidant and cancer fighting properties.
The research also highlighted a number of important benefits regarding vitamin D in the fight against COVID-19. Specifically, a study of 191,779 individuals in the U.S. found a 47% reduction in the COVID-19 positivity rate as vitamin D levels increased from 20 ng/ml to 55 ng/ml. This clearly shows that addressing vitamin D deficiency serves to improve resiliency against catching COVID-19. Dr. Marik also conducted a meta-analysis of vitamin D deficiency in relation to COVID-19 severity, hospitalization, and death which found that people with vitamin D levels below 20 ng/ml were 160% more likely to have severe infection and 22% more likely to die.
Results of these studies make sense when considering the functions of melatonin and vitamin D. As noted, melatonin is an important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Meanwhile, vitamin D is known to be critical for immune function. It helps regulate functioning of a number of important cells including B-cells, T-cells, and macrophages as well as the cytokine response.
This research provides hope for prevention and treatment but also concern as many people are deficient with their vitamin D intake as the primary source of vitamin D intake is sun exposure. A number of products can be useful in helping people greatly increase their levels of vitamin D and melatonin. For example, a vitamin D sunlamp has been proven to greatly increase vitamin D levels with only five minutes of use every other day. Additionally, LED light therapy boxes are great ways to improve your levels of these important nutrients. Whatever your choice, it is becoming increasingly clear that melatonin and vitamin D are crucially important for health including in the fight against COVID-19.