Summary An American study investigated whether selenium administration may suppress a specific type of the human immunodeficiency virus. 262 participants infected with HIV initiated the treatment. 141 participants were treated with a selenium product (200 µg), and 121 participants received a placebo product during the first 9 months of this study. In total, 174 participants…
Summary This study, conducted by American and Ecuadorian researchers, investigated the effects of micronutrient deficiencies on the immune response and respiratory infections in elderly Ecuadorians. 352 elderly were involved in this study. Several important micronutrients for immune function were measured in the participants’ blood. The results showed that micronutrient deficiencies were associated with a high…
Summary This review gives an overview of the role of selenium deficiency on the development of several viral infectious diseases. According to numerous studies, selenium deficiency negatively affects the metabolic system, impairs the immune response, stimulates the progression of viral infectious diseases, and increases the number of harmful viral mutations. Additionally, some studies also showed…
Summary A German research institute conducted this study to investigate the long-term effects of probiotic bacteria consumption on various respiratory tract infections. To this end, 479 healthy adults were supplemented daily with vitamins and minerals, and additionally probiotic bacteria (test group) or without probiotic bacteria (control group). The intake of the probiotic led to a…
Summary To determine if selenium deficiency intensifies an influenza infection, selenium-deficient mice were infected with a mild strain of the influenza virus. The results showed that selenium-deficient mice developed much more severe lung tissue inflammations than mice without selenium deficiency. The researchers concluded that an adequate intake of antioxidants, like selenium, is essential for a…
Summary According to this Japanese study, vitamin D supplementation could reduce influenza A incidence in Japanese schoolchildren. Schoolchildren (aged between 6 and 15 years) were divided into a test group (167 children) and a placebo group (167 children). The results showed an incidence of 10.8% in the test group and 18.6% in the placebo group.…
Summary According to a Chinese study, vitamin D may benefit pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B infections. Vitamin D levels of 142 pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B infections and 251 healthy pregnant women were measured. The results showed lower vitamin D levels in participants with chronic hepatitis B infection compared to healthy participants. Thus,…
Summary This study, conducted by research institutes from Vietnam and Germany, investigated the adverse effects of vitamin D deficiency on liver diseases associated with hepatitis B infections in patients in Vietnam. Vitamin D levels were determined in 400 chronic hepatitis B patients and 122 healthy control persons. The study results showed vitamin D inadequacy in…
Summary This study, conducted by several research institutes in Pakistan and China, investigated the effects of black cumin and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to enhance the efficacy of antiviral medication in hepatitis C patients. In this study, 30 hepatitis C patients were involved. 15 patients received only the antiviral drug, and the other 15 patients…
Summary This study, conducted by several British researchers, aimed to investigate whether additional selenium intake can improve immune function, support the treatment of poliovirus infections, and decrease mutations of the poliovirus in healthy British adults. Therefore, 22 British participants with relatively low plasma selenium levels received additional selenium (50 µg or 100 µg) or a…
Summary According to this review by Romanian and British research institutes, vitamin D can benefit immune response (the reaction which occurs within our organism to defend against foreign invaders) in respiratory viral infectious diseases. This is because patients with respiratory infections are often vitamin D deficient. As a result of its increased antiviral and anti-inflammatory…
Summary This study by several Iranian research institutes investigated the connection between vitamin D levels and the severity of COVID-19 infections. 123 people participated in this study, including 63 COVID-19 patients and 60 healthy participants. The study showed that COVID-19 patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels and a significantly higher number of ACE receptors,…
Summary A trial conducted by an American research institute investigated the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin C in suppressing Epstein-Barr infections. The data of 218 patients were evaluated. The researchers found that high doses of vitamin C decreased disease duration and reduced the number of viral antibodies indicating infection with the virus. Additionally, vitamin D was…
Summary According to this Egyptian study, vitamin D is an essential micronutrient in treating viral hepatitis C infections. The study involved 66 children diagnosed with hepatitis C and 28 healthy children. All participants received conventional therapy, with 33 patients additionally receiving a vitamin D supplement. Several parameters were measured to determine the effectiveness of the…
Summary This study, conducted by Turkish researchers, investigated the effect of vitamin D levels on COVID-19 severity and mortality in 149 COVID-19 patients. Results showed that patients with critical complaints had significantly lower vitamin D levels than patients with moderate COVID-19 complaints. Vitamin D insufficiency was measured in 93.1% of the patients with critical complaints.…
Summary A study conducted by the University of Chicago examined the association between vitamin D levels and other clinical characteristics related to COVID-19. 489 patients were involved. Patients with a deficient vitamin D level showed a 1.77 times greater risk to test positive for COVID-19. This study showed a direct association between vitamin D deficiency…
Summary An Israelian study found a direct association between low vitamin D levels and an increased risk of COVID-19 infections. In this study, the data of 7807 participants were used. Participants were tested on COVID-19, and blood samples were used to measure vitamin D levels. Participants who tested positive on COVID-19 had a significantly lower…
Summary This Korean study investigated the effects of several essential micronutrients on the incidence of COVID-19 infections. To this end, several micronutrients were measured in 50 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This study showed that 76% of these patients were vitamin D deficient, and 42% were selenium deficient. Furthermore, the COVID-19 group showed lower vitamin D…
Summary In this study, researchers aimed to investigate the (preventive) effect of vitamin D supplementation on the incidence of seasonal flu and respiratory tract infections in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) during the winter and early spring. 223 patients with IBD were included and categorized in two groups: One test group received a vitamin…
Summary Numerous studies have pointed out the clear connection between a well-functioning immune system and a sufficient daily intake of multiple specific micronutrients, including vitamins A, D, C, E, B6, and B12, folate, zinc, iron, copper, and selenium, which often play synergistic roles. Micronutrient deficiencies frequently occur in the human body, and even marginal deficiencies…
Summary A review composed by several American and Canadian research institutes gave an overview of studies on vitamin D evaluating its influence on immunity and its function as an immunomodulator. Vitamin D deficiency often occurs in the winter season as a result of decreased sunlight and sun exposure. Several studies showed a clear relation between…
Summary In a study conducted by several Indian research institutes, the zinc levels of 47 Covid-19 patients were compared with the zinc levels of 45 healthy people (control group). The results showed that a significant number of the involved Covid-19 patients (57,4%) had a zinc deficiency compared to the control group. These patients developed more…
Summary This study, conducted by several Iranian and American research institutes, investigated the association between vitamin D levels and its effect on several adverse clinical outcomes and parameters related to immune function and mortality rate in 235 COVID-19 patients. This study showed a significant association between vitamin D sufficiency, less severe clinical complaints, and better…
Summary A study conducted by several German hospitals investigated the effects of low selenium levels on the mortality risk of COVID-19 patients. Selenium is an essential trace element and important for a well-functioning immune system. In this study, which included 33 participants, the measured selenium levels were significantly higher in surviving COVID-19 patients. According to…
Summary A Chinese study investigated the effects of low calcium levels in critically ill COVID-19 patients. In this study, 107 COVID-19 patients were involved: 67 patients with low calcium levels and 40 patients with normal calcium levels. Several important parameters associated with infectious diseases were measured. It was found that these parameters were worse in…
Summary This study investigated the effects of vitamin D on inflammatory factors in COVID-19 patients. One group of patients received vitamin D daily; the other group only received the standard treatment. The results showed that vitamin D supplementation has a beneficial effect on COVID-19 by reducing inflammatory factors. No side effects were observed. More details…
Summary This study investigated the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation in Covid-19 patients. 66 residents of a nursing home participated in the study. The patients received the vitamin D3 supplementation during or in the month before the Covid-19 infection (intervention group). It was shown that vitamin D3 intake was associated with less severe Covid-19 and…
Summary 986 hospitalized patients with Covid-19 were involved in this study, including 151 patients (16%) who received vitamin D therapy. This study showed that supplementation of vitamin D reduced the risk of mortality in Covid-19 patients. More details can be found in the study. References Stephanie F Ling, Eleanor Broad, Rebecca Murphy, Joseph M Pappachan,…
Summary This study investigated the effect of high-dose zinc infusions on Covid-19 patients. 33 hospitalized adults participated in this study, including 15 patients who received a high-dose zinc infusion and 18 patients who received a placebo. Participants with zinc infusion showed an improved zinc level after the administration period, without adverse side effects. More details…
Summary This study investigated the effect of high-dose intravenous vitamin C supplementation in patients receiving intensive care treatment for Covid-19. 54 critically ill patients were involved in this study, including 26 patients who received the vitamin C infusion and 28 patients who received a placebo infusion. According to this study, vitamin C supplementation is an…
Summary In this study, a group of 17 COVID-19 patients received a combination of vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin B12. 26 COVID-19 patients served as a control group. The patients who received the micronutrients had a lower need for oxygen therapy and intensive care support than patients in the control group. Further details can be…
Summary This study focused on the effects of a combination of specific micronutrients, including vitamin C, on COVID-19 infections. It was shown that this micronutrient combination can decrease the expression of ACE2 receptors used by the COVID-19 virus to enter the cells and block the potential interaction of the virus and the ACE2 receptors. According…
Summary In this study, vitamin D levels and rates of vitamin D deficiency were measured in 62 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and 80 healthy controls. The results showed that vitamin D levels were much lower in COVID-19 patients than in the healthy control group. The lowest vitamin D levels were found in the most severe…
Summary This study measured the effects of vitamin D supplementation on Intensive Care Unit Admission and death rate among 76 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The supplementation of a high dose of vitamin D showed that the need for Intensive Care Unit Treatment decreased and reduced the severity of the disease. Further details can be found in…
Summary This study assessed blood levels of vitamin B12 in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. Blood levels of vitamin B12 were evaluated in 60 patients with HIV infection. The results showed that low blood levels of vitamin B12 are often found in HIV-infected patients. More details can be found in the study. References A F…
Summary This study evaluated blood levels of vitamin B12 in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). 11 patients with AIDS and vitamin B12 malabsorption (poor intestinal absorption of vitamin B12) were investigated. In addition, 15% of 121 patients with AIDS and 7% of 27 patients without AIDS who were HIV-positive had low vitamin B12 levels.…
Summary This study evaluated the effects of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea compound, on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In the first stage of infection HIV attacks CD4 cells that normally support the immune system function. The interaction between HIV and CD4 cells is made possible by the so called gp120 molecule that is…
Summary This study evaluated the effects of vitamin A supplementation in children born to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women. 118 offspring of HIV-infected women were included in this investigation. The results showed that vitamin A supplementation for children of HIV-infected women appeared to be beneficial, particularly for diarrhea among HIV-infected children. More details can be…
Summary This study evaluated the effectiveness of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea compound, against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The experiments confirmed that EGCG is effective in inhibiting CD4-gp120 binding, which is the initial step of HIV entry into the cells. In the first stage of infection HIV attacks CD4 cells that normally support…
Summary This study evaluated the effects of vitamin C uptake on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The experiments were performed with HIV-infected and uninfected cells. The results showed that exposure to high concentrations of vitamin C decreased the growth (proliferation) and survival of the HIV-infected cells. Further details can be found in the study. References C…
Summary This study evaluated the effect of vitamin A deficiency in mothers infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 474 HIV-infected mothers and their infants were followed from pregnancy through the infants’ 12th month of life. Of the 474 HIV-infected pregnant women, 63% were deficient in vitamin A. The mothers were divided into six groups according…
Summary Conventional drugs used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) infection can increase the activation of the virus. This review analyzed studies on the effect of the natural amino acid arginine in fighting AIDS/HIV infection. The results showed that arginine did not increase HIV activation. The researchers concluded that these observations, together…
Summary Studies show that around 10-40% of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) positive women will give birth to children who are also infected. This study evaluated the vitamin A status in pregnant women as a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Blood levels of vitamin A were measured in 338 HIV-positive mothers. In 74 mothers…
Summary This study investigated the effect of vitamin C on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The experiments were performed with cells. The results showed that vitamin C inhibits HIV by interfering with specific enzymes that allow the virus to spread. Further details can be found in the study. References S Harakeh, A Niedzwiecki, R J Jariwalla Link…
Summary This study evaluated the relationship between blood levels of nutrients and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) progression. Proteins, zinc, iron and vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, A, E, C and folate were measured in the blood of 108 HIV-positive men. The results showed that micronutrient deficiencies were associated with HIV progression. Further details can be…
Summary People infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) suffer from inflammation and depleted glutathione (antioxidant) levels. Inflammation itself can lead to decreased levels of glutathione. This study evaluated the ability of N-acetylcysteine to interfere with these mechanisms. The results showed that N-acetylcysteine was able to inhibit inflammation and replenish depleted glutathione levels. The researchers suggested…
Summary This review collected scientific studies on the efficacy of micronutrients against HIV. The results were as follows: N-acetylcysteine and alpha-lipoic acid interrupted the virus activation, glutamine improved glutathione (antioxidant) levels and carnitine was effective in the (nutritional) treatment of HIV. More details can be found in the publication. References L Patrick Link to…
Summary This study determined the effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), one of the components of green tea, on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HIV-infected cells were treated with EGCG. The results showed that EGCG strongly inhibited the replication of the virus. More details can be found in the study. References Gianfranco Fassina, Anna Buffa, Roberto Benelli, Oliviero E Varnier, Douglas…
Summary This study assessed the correlation between micronutrient intakes and immune system function in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. CD4 cells were counted in 119 patients. CD4 cells are white blood cells that boost the immune system. Their number is reduced in HIV-infected patients. The results showed that higher intakes of vitamin A and D…
Summary Growth failure is common in children infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study evaluated the relationship among growth, death rate and nutrition. Blood levels of vitamin A, carotenoids and vitamin E were investigated in 194 HIV-infected infants. The results showed that vitamin A and low blood levels of carotenoids were associated with decreased…