Two reports, which this week published in the journal BMJ , not just an April Fool's joke day message about vitamin D, but they came close.
Vitamin D wins the last few years a reputation - not entirely deserved - as a miracle vitamin that provides protection against certain types of cancer, weakening of the bones, osteoporosis, myocardial infarction, Alzheimer's disease and other chronic diseases. Not so fast, the two reported caution.
In one of the BMJ studies, under the direction of Evropi Theodoratou, research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, researchers evaluated the results of the 268 previous studies of vitamin d. Their conclusion: "very convincing evidence of a clear role of vitamin D is not available for every output, but associations with a selection of results are likely." In other words, there is no solid evidence that taking vitamin D helps.
To study the other BMJ , headed by Rajiv Chowdhury, a heart-cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge showed that linked low blood levels of vitamin D to increased risks of dying prematurely of cardiovascular disease, cancer and other causes. But whether supplementation with vitamin D can help people live longer and healthier requires further investigation.
A big unknown is whether low vitamin D causes that cause chronic diseases or chronic diseases that low vitamin D values. Another area of the mystery is, what kind of vitamin D supplementation would be best for the health, and how much you take.
Tests for vitamin D
Some doctors regularly check their patients vitamin D levels. The practice in question make the authors of one of the studies. You say that the evidence is not so far shows significant differences in health between young and middle age people with lower blood levels of vitamin d. The authors acknowledge that it could be different for older people, which improve the blood level of vitamin D can be helpful.
If not everyone should be tested for vitamin D, which should have a blood test for it? Like so much else about vitamin D, there is no clear answer. I recommend the test for people have bone of thin osteopenia or osteoporosis or who are at high risk, such as for example, to develop
- Caucasian and Asian women before and after menopause, especially if they smoke or are thin at any time
- Women and older men with a family history of osteoporosis
- People who have had a hip, wrist, spine or other fracture after 50 years
- People who take a drug, the bones as a corticosteroid such as diluted
Do you take vitamin D?
I have before, the amount of vitamin D recommended by the Institute of medicinewill receive counseling my patients to keep:
- 600 IU vitamin d per day for all ages 1 to 70
- 800 IE vitamin D per day for those 71 and older
Food is usually the best way to get the vitamins. Not but a vitamin d. You can type just a few food - salmon, tuna, sardines, milk, fortified cereals and some types of mushroom - more than 100 IU per serving.
What is vitamin D for millions of years people get with the way - from the Sun? It is a hot-button issue - and a balancing act. 10 to 15 minutes of Sun a few times on your face, arms, back or legs without sunscreen, enough to generate your body's vitamin D requirements for a week is a week. But too much exposure to the Sun causes skin cancer.
If you only rarely in the Sun out, or are simply not sure that vitamin D is always 600 to 800 IE a day, a supplement containing 400 to 1,000 IU secure, low-cost insurance.