Vitamins, Cars, and a Netflix Series
Vitamin D may be protective against Covid-19 and SUVs are killing machines, but there's a great new science series on Netflix!
Today’s letter is short and I won’t write one next Friday as we’re taking a week off, but I’ve got a sweet little bonus for you at the end.
Vitamin D and the immune system
Vitamin D appears to have a modulating effect on the immune system. This matters in times of Covid-19 because doctors have noticed many of those who are hospitalised show a hyperactive immune response to the virus during which, instead of focusing on the virus, the immune system begins to attack the body as well. The protective effects of vitamin D are not yet confirmed, but researchers are intrigued, and some are even advocating for people to increase their intake of vitamin D as a preventative measure. The latest episode of Radiolab explains this well:
“We're definitely in the early days here. As I said, this is still all just correlation. You are beginning to see some people say that we know enough to act. That we should start recommending vitamin D supplements, which is controversial in part because those recommendations are often involving race.”
Indeed it is tricky, because people with darker skin have a harder time synthesising vitamin D, and we already know that Black and Brown people are getting sick and dying at higher rates than white people. In fact, the gaps are even deeper than we understand.
How to use this: the best way to get your daily dose of vitamin D is to get out in the sun when it is at its strongest (roughly between 10 am and 2 pm). We don’t have all the information on this yet, but it can’t hurt to focus on getting more of it. We need it for other things and it may be extra helpful during this pandemic.
SUVs and trucks are killing people in the U.S.
I have endless rants against the U.S. obsession with SUVs and trucks (far too big, unnecessary, fuel-guzzling, who the hell needs 4-wheel-drive on normal roads, etc.). Then again, I come from the land of tiny zippy cars, so you might accuse me of bias. But now I have an objective point to add to my list: they are killing more and more people.
That gives the U.S. a figure of 19 pedestrian deaths per 1 million population. By contrast, France and Denmark had rates of 7.0 and 5.2 that year — especially remarkable because walking around in Paris and Copenhagen is far more common than it is in most American cities. Indeed, not long ago the European Union had a considerably greater rate of pedestrian fatalities than America, probably because walking is so much more common there. But the E.U. has cut pedestrian deaths by about 40 percent between 2007 and 2018 (from over 8,000 to about 4,900), while the U.S. has gone the opposite direction. Oslo and Helsinki did not have a single pedestrian death in all of 2019.
(…)
… the main reason for the jump in deaths is the increasing proportion of SUVs and trucks on the roads. As a major Detroit Free Press/USA Today investigation by Eric D. Lawrence, Nathan Bomey, and Kristi Tanner reveals, both manufacturers and federal regulators have known for years that big, tall vehicles are more dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists — something like 2-3 times more likely to kill when they hit someone.
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There is recent data, but the danger of SUVs was the topic of the 2002 book High and Mighty: SUVs — The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way, by Keith Bradsher. This is not a new phenomenon, just the result of terrible policy and consumer choices.
How to use this: SUVs and trucks now represent 70% of new cars in the U.S., so it’ll be difficult to buck this trend, but if you’re thinking of acquiring a new vehicle, I urge you to factor these statistics into your choice, as well as the understanding that you almost certainly do not need an SUV, even with a large family (minivans are much safer). Short of that, if you’re a pedestrian or a biker, please be extremely careful around them as their blind spots are enormous, their weight makes them harder to slow in an emergency, and their drivers are far less sensitive to the road. Also, share this story far and wide.
Informative greatness
If you have Netflix, do yourself a favour: watch the new documentary series Connected, with Latif Nasser (of Radiolab fame). Here’s the trailer:
Non-Science Bonus
This is a YouTube channel by a pair of Black teens reacting to songs they listen to for the first time. It includes Aerosmith, Phil Collins, Dolly Parton, and many more. An utter joy to watch. Here’s a taste: