5 ms·

Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu (2017)

91 points by ColanR 7y ago

ps07 7y ago
I was looking at the temp and humidity of cities effected and most were in the under 20C 50% humidity band. Maybe sunny weather makes a diff given the vitamin D connection.
- troydavis 7y ago
  Here’s an analysis of this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22563932 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22563932 (“High Temperature and High Humidity Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19”): > One degree Celsius increase in temperature and one percent increase in relative humidity lower R by 0.0383 and 0.0224, respectively.
  - feanaro 7y ago
    Unfortunately, if you take a look at figure 3 in that paper, you'll see that correlation is extremely weak and the non-zero coefficients almost entirely driven by a single outlier.
- ankit219 7y ago
  That would be bad news for UK and could be good news for India, Indonesia, and some African and South American countries
- fnord123 7y ago
  It's quite obviously spicy food that helps the most. Or rather its my excuse to eat everything spicy for the next month.
Khelavaster 7y ago
That's why we warehouse patients in hospitals without sunlight exposure.
- neuronic 7y ago
  You could couple disinfecting against MRSA with vitamin D production by bombarding patients (and microorganisms) with UV rays. Also maybe invest in the skin cancer department.
  - raxxorrax 7y ago
    And if everybody got wrinkles, age discrimination would be lessened too.
- easytiger 7y ago
  There used to be outdoor wards when dealing with tb patients not very long ago. Seems medieval now http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6571543.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6571543.stm
- senectus1 7y ago
  would be interesting to see how really dark black people with high natural sun insulation are fairing. I mean its armchair biology but you could theorize that people with very dark black skin that work in office and dont see much sunlight would be more susceptible to the coldflu seasons... I dont remember seeing anything like that, and one of my workmates from Kenya, who has been told that her Vit D levels are too low in winter (by her GP) and that she should go for walks at lunchtime to get them up a bit, doesn't seem to get especially hammered by the cold/flu season. That is a anecdotal data pool of (1) though :-P
david_draco 7y ago
Ah, Linus Pauling was just one letter off https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_common_cold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_common_cold
- confeit 7y ago
  Vitamin C, taken orally, reduces length of cold with 8% in adults, and 12% in children. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10796569 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10796569 Vitamin C deficiency makes you more susceptible to the cold and severe infections. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988135 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988135 Vitamin C has shown inhibitory effect in chickens for avian coronavirus. https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/52/6/1049/731701 https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/52/6/1049/731701 Chinese are testing intravenous Vitamin C for treating COVID-19 with promising results for reducing cytokine-induced damage to the lungs. https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=228745 https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2... I am really not sure why news organizations all around the world feel the need to debunk Vitamin C usage for novel coronavirus. For instance: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/03/09/coronavirus-its-time-to-debunk-claims-that-vitamin-c-could-cure-it/ https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/03/09/coronavirus-its-time-... . Their conclusions all amount to: washing hands is better, you may get a tummy ache, and don't believe folk remedies.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
    Vitamin C is essential. This means it is essential for tissue repair. Also the production of neurotransmitters / cell signalling molecules. Of course it improves recovery and reduces severity of symptoms. Of course it won't prevent anything. I can't understand how there is any dispute.
    - prox 7y ago
      Also the word VITAmine gives it away, doesnt it :)
      - 7y ago
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

91 points by ColanR 7y ago

ps07 7y ago

I was looking at the temp and humidity of cities effected and most were in the under 20C 50% humidity band. Maybe sunny weather makes a diff given the vitamin D connection.

troydavis 7y ago
Here’s an analysis of this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22563932 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22563932 (“High Temperature and High Humidity Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19”): > One degree Celsius increase in temperature and one percent increase in relative humidity lower R by 0.0383 and 0.0224, respectively.
- feanaro 7y ago
  Unfortunately, if you take a look at figure 3 in that paper, you'll see that correlation is extremely weak and the non-zero coefficients almost entirely driven by a single outlier.
ankit219 7y ago
That would be bad news for UK and could be good news for India, Indonesia, and some African and South American countries
fnord123 7y ago
It's quite obviously spicy food that helps the most. Or rather its my excuse to eat everything spicy for the next month.

Khelavaster 7y ago

That's why we warehouse patients in hospitals without sunlight exposure.

neuronic 7y ago
You could couple disinfecting against MRSA with vitamin D production by bombarding patients (and microorganisms) with UV rays. Also maybe invest in the skin cancer department.
- raxxorrax 7y ago
  And if everybody got wrinkles, age discrimination would be lessened too.
easytiger 7y ago
There used to be outdoor wards when dealing with tb patients not very long ago. Seems medieval now http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6571543.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6571543.stm
senectus1 7y ago
would be interesting to see how really dark black people with high natural sun insulation are fairing. I mean its armchair biology but you could theorize that people with very dark black skin that work in office and dont see much sunlight would be more susceptible to the coldflu seasons... I dont remember seeing anything like that, and one of my workmates from Kenya, who has been told that her Vit D levels are too low in winter (by her GP) and that she should go for walks at lunchtime to get them up a bit, doesn't seem to get especially hammered by the cold/flu season. That is a anecdotal data pool of (1) though :-P

david_draco 7y ago

Ah, Linus Pauling was just one letter off https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_common_cold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_common_cold

confeit 7y ago
Vitamin C, taken orally, reduces length of cold with 8% in adults, and 12% in children. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10796569 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10796569 Vitamin C deficiency makes you more susceptible to the cold and severe infections. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988135 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988135 Vitamin C has shown inhibitory effect in chickens for avian coronavirus. https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/52/6/1049/731701 https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/52/6/1049/731701 Chinese are testing intravenous Vitamin C for treating COVID-19 with promising results for reducing cytokine-induced damage to the lungs. https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=228745 https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2... I am really not sure why news organizations all around the world feel the need to debunk Vitamin C usage for novel coronavirus. For instance: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/03/09/coronavirus-its-time-to-debunk-claims-that-vitamin-c-could-cure-it/ https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/03/09/coronavirus-its-time-... . Their conclusions all amount to: washing hands is better, you may get a tummy ache, and don't believe folk remedies.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
  Vitamin C is essential. This means it is essential for tissue repair. Also the production of neurotransmitters / cell signalling molecules. Of course it improves recovery and reduces severity of symptoms. Of course it won't prevent anything. I can't understand how there is any dispute.
  - prox 7y ago
    Also the word VITAmine gives it away, doesnt it :)
    - 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]