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The most relevant thing in the current health situation is that "it acts as a protector of the immune system against a viral or bacterial infection," warns a UCAV professor.
Vitamin D is a nutrient that has been in the spotlight for a few years now, and its role has been highlighted throughout this pandemic, "since its importance in bone health is well known, promoting the absorption of calcium." ", according to the professor of the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the Catholic University of Ávila Carolina García, who has highlighted that it is "key to protecting against covid-19."
This vitamin "is also essential for a good state of the immune and cardiovascular system," since, among other characteristics, "it is essential for the transmission of nervous impulses," he indicated in a statement.
The most relevant thing in the current health situation is that "it acts as a protector of the immune system against a viral or bacterial infection", given that it is a vitamin that "fulfills a large number of important physiological functions, so it is necessary that it be found within of their optimal values".
This focus of attention is not without justification according to García, since, "in addition to being important in many functions, it turns out that the existence of serum vitamin D values below what is desirable in the Spanish population, both healthy and sick, has been confirmed." ".
"This could be due to changes in human lifestyle habits in recent years, and the scarcity of foods that contain it (or it is found in them in low quantities). Hence, in recent months "The possible role that hypovitaminosis D or its supplementation may have in the context of SARS-Cov-2 infection has been discussed," he noted.
According to the professor of the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, vitamin D is really a prohormone and is represented by two fat-soluble compounds (vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol and vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol), of which D2 comes from foods, essentially vegetables. , like mushrooms.
D3 is formed in the skin of animals and humans from the absorption of ultraviolet radiation by 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is present in products of animal origin such as eggs, salmon, tuna, but is also the which is synthesized with solar radiation.
Both vitamin D compounds are biologically inactive, so when absorbed they undergo a series of transformations to produce various metabolites, which are active and responsible for the multiple functions of vitamin D in the body, the expert added.
