Compelling research supports increased Vitamin D intake
07.06.09
A review article in the July 19, 2007 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine makes a compelling argument for Americans to supplement with more vitamin D.
The authors point out that between 40% and 100% of elderly people in the United States and Europe have insufficient or deficient levels of vitamin D. They also highlight disturbing findings that even children and young adults who supplement with 400 IU/day of vitamin D and consume vitamin D containing foods often suffer from a vitamin D insufficiency.
The authors show meticulous data showing that far higher doses of vitamin D are needed and that it is the amount of vitamin D in one’s blood that determines disease risk reduction rather than how much is actually swallowed.
The authors have calculated the rates of carious diseases affected by vitamin D status and have come up with the following startling numbers:
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78% reduction in Type 1 diabetes in children taking 2,000 IU /day of vitamin D in the first year of life
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200% increase in Type 1 diabetes in vitamin D-deficient children
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22% reduction in Type II diabetes in those taking 800 IU/day of vitamin D plus calcium
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72% reduction in number of falls in elderly people taking higher-dose vitamin D
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30-%0% more cancers in vitamin D-deficient people
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42% reduction in multiple sclerosis in women taking more than 400 IU/day of vitamin D
Conclusion: Government-based recommendations of 200 IU/day for children, 400 IU/day for those aged 51-70 years, and 600 IU/day for those over 70 are horribly outdated.
Tags: cancer prevention, diabetes, supplement, supplements, vitamin d deficientcy, vitamins