Are You and Older Loved Ones Truly Getting Vitamin D?

Being secured inside could be perilous, especially for seniors

Even with so many years of consumer information about vitamins, mineral, and other nutrients, not all Americans know what vitamin D does for us, how much we need daily, and where we get it. Now we might need it even more--but it may be harder to get.

It's gaining importance

New data--in a study in the Sept. 25 edition of PLOS ONE--found that hospitalized patients with solid vitamin D intake had fewer COVID complications. It meant they were less likely to suffer from lowered blood oxygen levels or losing consciousness. And death was 51.5% less likely among those getting proper vitamin D levels.

The leader of the above study, Dr. Len Horovitz (a pulmonologist and internist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City) also reported other vitamin D benefits in a different study. He found that among folks getting adequate amounts of this nutrient, the risk of getting infected with COVID dropped by 54 percent.

And then there are the basics

Even before the above studies, experts touted vitamin D. It not only builds strong bones, 21st century reports have added the belief that it builds muscles function--and perhaps fights cancer.

And have you ever heard of "osteomalasia"? It's the distortion of how your bones are laid out. Lack of D increases that risk.

There's also a good reason vitamin D and calcium go together. It's D that helps your body absorb and then metabolize calcium.

The hard-to-glean nutrient

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