The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) - A supportive approach with selected micronutrients.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) - A supportive approach with selected micronutrients. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2021 Jan 25;:1-22 Authors: Gröber U, Holick MF Abstract Worldwide the pandemic of COVID-19 spreads rapidly and has had an enormous public health impact with substantial morbidity and mortality especially in high-risk groups, such as older people and patients with comorbidities like diabetes, dementia or cancer. In the absence of a vaccine against COVID-19 there is an urgent need to find supportive therapies that can stabilize the immune system and can help to deal with the infection, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly. This is especially relevant for our geriatric institutions and nursing homes. A major potential contributing factor for elderly is due to their high incidence of malnutrition: up to 80% among the hospitalized elderly. Malnutrition results when adequate macronutrients and micronutrients are lacking in the diet. Often missing in public health discussions around preventing and treating COVID-19 patients are nutritional strategies to support optimal function of their immune system. This is surprising, given the importance that nutrients play a significant role for immune function. Several micronutrients, such as vitamin D, retinol, vitamin C, selenium and zinc are of special importance supporting both the adaptive and innate immune systems. As suboptimal status or deficiencies in these immune-...
Source: International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research - Category: Nutrition Tags: Int J Vitam Nutr Res Source Type: research