COVID-19: dietary supplements during a pandemic
Dietary supplements are special types of food that are intended to supplement the body with nutritionally significant substances. These substances are found in some common foods, but are often not contained in sufficient quantities in our diet. These are mainly vitamins and minerals , which are important for maintaining and strengthening health, especially the immune system . It plays an important role in protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and the subsequent disease of COVID-19 (as well as other types of infection), or in mitigating the course of an already established disease.
Among the most important substances that can significantly support your immune system are vitamin C , vitamin D and zinc .
Vitamin C
If your diet is not rich in natural sources of vitamin C, i.e. vegetables and fruits, we recommend adding vitamin C in the form of a dietary supplement . The recommended intake of vitamin C for adults is 100 mg per day. Under certain circumstances, for example during heavy physical exertion, long-term psychological stress and some diseases (including infectious ones ), the need for vitamin C can be increased.
On our market, there is a wide range of food supplements with vitamin C containing the daily recommended dose of 100-500 mg of vitamin C. Such an amount is sufficient to supplement your diet and there is no need to increase it further.
Vitamin D
The group of vitamin D consists of many biologically active substances , which are referred to as calciferols . Experts distinguish between ergocalciferol , or vitamin D 2 , which is contained in foods of plant origin, and cholecalciferol , or vitamin D 3 , which is found in foods of animal origin.
The human body is able to synthesize vitamin D 3 with the help of UV radiation in the skin . However, this ability of the organism is affected by various factors and is greatly limited in old age. It turns out that most people, especially the elderly, are deficient in vitamin D. A replacement in the form of a dietary supplement, especially during the coronavirus epidemic , is therefore completely appropriate.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 10-15 µg per day. We usually cannot reach such a quantity with ordinary foods: the source of vitamin D is mainly fatty fish and liver , which are usually not represented very much in our diet.
Food supplements with vitamin D in the amount of 5-25 µg in the daily recommended dose can be purchased on our market. We do not recommend dietary supplements with a higher amount of vitamin D than 25 µg per day, as an amount of up to 25 µg is considered sufficient for healthy people, and higher doses could already burden the organism. We recommend focusing on dietary supplements, in which the source of vitamin D is fish oil, which, in addition to vitamin D, also contains omega-3 fatty acids , substances important for the body’s defenses.
Zinc
Zinc performs a number of specific functions in the body and plays an important role in the human immune system. The human body does not have large reserves of zinc that could be used in the event of a deficiency, therefore it is necessary to continuously receive zinc in food. The source of zinc is beef, pork and poultry, eggs, milk and cheese. The recommended daily dose of zinc for adults is 10 mg per day , but the highest tolerable daily dose for zinc is 25 mg.
A number of dietary supplements with zinc appear on our market with a recommended daily dose of 10-25 mg. However, for long-term use, we recommend dietary supplements with a zinc content of only 10-15 mg in a daily dose. Higher doses unnecessarily burden the organism and can be risky.
How to choose a suitable dietary supplement?
We recommend buying dietary supplements at a pharmacy, where you can consult with a pharmacist about the most suitable product with regard to your state of health and the use of medicines or other dietary supplements.
If you shop online, we recommend using e-shops of Czech or well-known food supplement manufacturers.
What preparations to watch out for during the coronavirus epidemic?
A number of food supplement manufacturers are abusing the situation surrounding the current pandemic and offer various food supplements to prevent or treat SARS-CoV-2 infection , or the disease COVID-19 . These food supplements often already have words like “covid”, “virus” etc. in their name. In addition, they contain various false medical claims either directly on the label or in the advertisement, promising protection against infection with the new coronavirus, or even its easy cure.
We strongly warn against such products. They promise miraculous effects for a lot of money. If you have any doubts about the dietary supplement you have decided to purchase, contact the State Health Institute .
A final word
Here, we draw attention to only three substances that can support the body’s defenses, although it is widely known that there are a number of such substances. However, we consider vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc to be the most basic.
However, a varied and balanced diet provides the body with the necessary vitamins and minerals . If such a way of eating is not possible for various reasons (necessity of diets , some diseases), then supplementation of nutritionally significant substances is reasonably appropriate. The same is true in cases where the human organism faces excessive physical or psychological stress that the coronavirus epidemic can bring.
