HOW TO PREVENT COVID-19 BY MEANS OF A DAILY MICRONUTRITION PROTOCOL? AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

Aim. Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has officially been declared as a pandemic, and the world now has to manage this pandemic disease as a major public health issue at different levels, not only from a political aspect, but also from an individual aspect at the lower end of the scale. The goal of this paper is to focus on how individuals could optimize their health, and particularly their immune systems, to reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections by means of a daily micronutrition strategy. Material and Methods. A narrative review was conducted on 85 articles evaluating the mechanisms which allow vitamin D, vitamin C and Zinc to lower viral replication rates and reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine storm. Furthermore, we focus on high-risk populations with the prism of deficiency of these vitamins and this mineral. Results. According to literature, it seems that Zinc and vitamins C and D, particularly when taken as supplementation at an early stage, could be clinically useful micronutrients as adjuvant therapies in the prevention of deficiency amplification in COVID-19 unaffected and at-risk populations, and/or in the treatment of severe forms in affected patients. Conclusion. Further randomized control trials through the use of genomics and metabolomic techniques are needed in order to understand the role of these micronutrients in the treatment of severe forms of the COVID-19 disease in different types of at-risk populations.