Improving one´s overall diet more important during Corona pandemic than taking individual nutritional supplements
Recently, the media has repeatedly voiced concern and given recommendations on nutrient intake in the prevention and treatment of the disease resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19). These recommendations have almost exclusively concerned vitamin D. This is expected as a vitamin D deficiency is known to be linked to how effective the body’s immune system is and the prevalence of acute respiratory tract infections. However, there is no reliable research-based evidence that vitamin D is beneficial in preventing a coronavirus infection. Numerous nutrients, not vitamin D alone, are important for the functioning of the immune system. No single nutrient can adequately compensate for the benefits of a versatile diet that contains a sufficient amount of protective nutrients and a good nutritional status.
Diet as a whole decisive in ensuring good nutrition
A good nutritional status is essential for the functioning of the immune system and recovery from diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and high age have proven to be risk factors for the severe form of coronavirus disease. With the exception of age, all these risk factors can be influenced with a health-promoting diet that meets dietary recommendations.
The foundation for eating in a health-promoting manner is an adequate and versatile diet that contains a large amount of vegetables, fruit and berries, fibre-rich grain products and sufficient sources of soft fats (oils, soft fat spreads, fish, nuts and seeds). The excessive consumption of hard fats, salt and sugary products should be avoided. A good diet is best achieved by eating regularly and ensuring proper meals on a daily basis. Such a diet can ensure the adequate intake of essential nutrients, strengthen the immune system and improve the body's fat and sugar values.
When should vitamin D supplements be used?
To ensure an adequate intake of vitamin D for the entire population, the National Nutrition Council has issued a recommendation on the vitamin D-fortification of foodstuffs in 2010. According to the recommendation, liquid dairy products and fat spreads should be vitamin D-fortified (liquid dairy products 1 microgram/100 ml and fat spreads 20 micrograms/100 g). In addition to these, plant-based alternatives to cow’s milk are generally supplemented with vitamin D.
To ensure the adequate intake of vitamin D, a person’s diet should include daily consumption of vitamin D-fortified milk, dairy products or plant-based beverages and fat spreads as well as fish 2-3 times a week, which are also rich in vitamin D. See the nutrition label on the product packaging to check the vitamin D-supplementation of a food product. If, for some reason, this recommendation on the regular use of certain food ingredients is not realised, it is advisable to take 10 micrograms of a vitamin D supplement each day from the beginning of October until the end of March.
In addition, the following recommendations on the use of vitamin D supplements have been issued to different population groups to ensure the adequate intake of vitamin D:
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding: 10 micrograms/day year-round.
- Children under 1 year of age: 2-10 micrograms/day year-round (dose is case-specific depending on whether an infant is breastfed or the amount of formula/follow-on formula/vitamin D-fortified porridge or gruel they are fed)
- 1-year-olds: 10 micrograms/day year-round.
- Children aged 2 to 17 years: 7.5 micrograms/day year-round.
- Adults aged 18 to 74 years: 10 micrograms/day during the darkest time of the year from the beginning of October to the end of March, unless a person uses vitamin D-fortified milk products or fat spreads on a daily basis and/or eats fish 2-3 times a week
- Adults aged 75 and above 20 micrograms/day year-round (and 10 micrograms/day if a person consumes an abundance of vitamin D-fortified foods)
- People who are outdoors very little, tend to dress in a manner that covers most of their body and who have dark skin: 20 micrograms/day year-round.
Limits for the safe use of vitamin D not to be exceeded
The National Nutrition Council recommends that persons responsible for nutritional communication and who work with clients in health care take into account, in particular, the importance of overall nutrition during the corona pandemic and provide guidance to all clients on the recommended use of vitamin D supplements. There is no research-based evidence on any benefits resulting from taking a larger dose of vitamin D supplements than recommended.
The maximum safe intake limits for vitamin D per age group based on scientific evaluation should be observed to prevent adverse effects. The maximum limits for safe intake are 25 micrograms/day at 0 to 6 months, 35 micrograms/day at 6 months to 1 year, 50 micrograms/day for 1-11-year-olds, and 100 micrograms/day for young people over the age of 11 and adults.
In clinical work, vitamin D may be a pharmacotherapy, in which case the dose used is based on a medical assessment.
National Nutrition Council
Markku Tervahauta
THL Director General,
National Nutrition Council Chair
Suvi Virtanen
Research Professor, THL, National Nutrition
National Nutrition Council member
Leo Niskanen
Docent, Head of department,
Chair the National Nutrition Council’s
Monitoring Group on Supplementing Nutrition
Arja Lyytikäinen
Secretary-General National Nutrition Council
More information:
Vitamin D - recommendations for intake and use of supplements
Recommendations for vitamin D supplements for breastfed infants in seven languages
Information bulletin for reception centres on vitamin D supplements pdf, December 2019 (In Finnish)
Nutritional and dietary recommendations