Taking multivitamins, omega-3, probiotics or vitamin D supplements may lessen the risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 infection — at least among women — indicates a large population study, published online in the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.
But taking any of vitamin C, zinc, or garlic supplements wasn’t associated with a lower risk of testing positive for the virus, the findings show.
There has been plenty of celebrity endorsement of the use of dietary supplements to both ward off and treat COVID-19 infection since the start of the pandemic, note the researchers.
In the UK alone, market share rose by 19.5% in the period leading up to the first national ‘lockdown’ on March 23 last year, with sales of vitamin C rising by 110% and those of multivits by 93%.
Similarly, zinc supplement sales rose by 415% in the first week of March,…
