Allison Turner
The population is undersupplied with many nutrients. Nutrient deficiencies, however, make people susceptible to many diseases, including Covid-19. Swiss scientists say the Covid-19 pandemic can be fought with the right diet and supplements.
Dietary supplements against the pandemic
Since the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020, so-called consumer advocates have been doing everything they can to prevent people from using dietary supplements to prevent corona. “There are no dietary supplements that can prevent disease with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)”, reads the website of the consumer centers, which suggests that anyone who recommends dietary supplements to prevent corona must be a shady profiteer who must be stopped by means of warnings.
After all, there are “still no real scientifically based intervention studies (gold standard) on people that would prove the effectiveness of certain plants, vitamins or minerals in the new virus”. So you shouldn’t take it either.
Why waiting for science isn’t always worth it
As is so often the case, one is condemned to wait and do nothing, at least if one wants to follow the consumer advice centers, to wait for evidence-based results. However, it may be years before the results of scientifically based intervention studies are available. Whether such studies can be carried out at all also depends on the funds available, since intervention studies in particular are among the most expensive types of study and can quickly cost six figures.
In the meantime, you wait patiently, avoiding food supplements as far as possible – and thereby possibly missing the opportunity to remedy serious nutrient deficiencies, strengthen your immune system, and thus survive any infections more easily.
Experts confirm: Dietary supplements help in the fight against the pandemic
How good the decision was not to wait and to take targeted dietary supplements for prevention and in particular to strengthen the immune system right at the beginning of the pandemic is now explained by a Swiss panel of experts made up of several professors from numerous renowned Swiss universities in cooperation with the Swiss Society for Nutrition.
The scientists from the University of Zurich, the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), the university hospitals in Lausanne and Zurich, and the medical faculty of the Dutch University of Groningen summarize their results as follows:
Nutrient deficiencies can weaken the immune system and negatively affect the risk, severity, and duration of illness from the corona. Nutrient deficiencies are widespread in the population, as a large part of the population does not follow the recommendations for a healthy diet. However, if the nutrient supply cannot be secured through a healthy diet, dietary supplements can be used.
The population is particularly undersupplied with these nutrients
According to Swiss researchers, the population is probably undersupplied with vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and zinc in particular. In addition, an undersupply of vitamin D is widespread, especially in the elderly population over 65 years of age – i.e. especially in the corona risk group.
The following can be read in the corresponding publication: “In the current corona situation, the expert panel recommends that communication for a balanced diet be strengthened and targeted dietary supplements adapted to the needs to support a well-functioning immune system in the event of insufficient nutrition is strongly recommended.”
A strong immune system protects against the second wave!
Since there are always warnings of a second wave, the focus of the investigations was on measures that can strengthen the immune system in such a way that the person in question is not only better protected against corona, but of course also against colds and flu.
According to the researchers, it has been scientifically proven that the optimal supply of nutrients is central to a resilient immune system, to reduce the risk of infection, the severity, and the duration of the disease.
They also report on current studies that show that patients suffering from CORONA have very low levels of some micronutrients. A low vitamin D blood level was found in those patients who had a severe course of the disease or even died of the corona. Vitamin D in particular protects against respiratory infections.
