Over the past decade, a flurry of reports linking low levels of vitamin D to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases has led many doctors to routinely test vitamin D levels of their healthy patients. what But there's no good reason to not, based on a brand new advice from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published this week. History of Internal Medicine.
After reviewing the outcomes of 25 vitamin D studies, the panel concluded that knowing their vitamin D levels shouldn’t be helpful for most individuals. For one thing, experts don't agree on what vitamin D deficiency means. Some laboratories define it below 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), others below 50 ng/mL. Also, vitamin D tests will not be standardized or reliable.
Perhaps most significantly, even when you could have “low” vitamin D levels, there’s little evidence that taking a vitamin D complement will do you any good—with one exception. People with vitamin D deficiency who take supplements are less prone to fall. It is smart that vitamin D plays a key role in keeping bones and muscles strong.
Our bodies make vitamin D when sunlight hits our skin (hence the nickname, the “sunshine vitamin”). Fatty fish (akin to salmon and mackerel), eggs, and mushrooms contain small amounts of vitamin D. It is added to exploit in addition to some yogurts, juices and breakfast cereals.
Recommended Vitamin D Intake
400 IU/day for kids
600 IU/day for kids 1 to 13 years of age
600 IU for every person aged 14 to 70 years
800 IU for those 71 years and older
The really useful every day intake ranges from 400 international units (IU) to 800, depending on age (see “Recommended Vitamin D Intakes”). However, many individuals – including healthcare professionals – take high doses of vitamin D in complement form to forestall chronic disease, despite clear evidence of advantages.
Dr. Manson explains that low vitamin D levels might be only one sign of poor health. “If you're in poor health, you're not going outside for a walk, bike ride, or other exercise,” she says. Being indoors more means you don't get enough sunlight to make vitamin D. Also, people who find themselves obese have lower vitamin D levels. Both obesity and lack of exercise contribute to higher rates of cancer and heart disease, so these aspects may explain the diseases slightly than low vitamin D levels.
We could have a clearer picture of vitamin D's role in our health in a couple of years. A nationwide trial involving about 26,000 people led by Dr. Manson is underway, with results expected in late 2017. The Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL) goals to find out whether taking 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D or fish. Oil pills reduce the chance of cancer, heart disease and stroke in individuals who don’t currently have these diseases.
In the meantime, there isn’t any practical reason for most individuals to get a vitamin D test. But there are exceptions, says Dr. Manson. People who may have testing include those that:
- Have osteoporosis or other bone health problems.
- There are conditions that affect fat absorption, including celiac disease or weight reduction surgery
- Routinely take medications that interfere with vitamin D activity, including anticonvulsants and glucocorticoids
The Institute of Medicine, which officially sets dietary reference points based on an intensive review of all available evidence, concluded that a vitamin D blood level of 20 ng/mL is mandatory to take care of healthy bones. Coffee provides vitamin D.
Dr. Manson says there's no additional advantage to going any higher, although a goal of 30 ng/mL is affordable. But some laboratories are recommending ranges that exceed 50 ng/mL, which is potentially dangerous, Dr. Manson cautioned. Too much vitamin D could cause calcium to accumulate in your blood, which might damage your heart, blood vessels, and kidneys.
How are you able to ensure you're getting enough vitamin D? When possible, aim to get the really useful every day intake in your age from moderate sun exposure. and an appendix if required. How much sun is enough relies on where you reside and the weather. In the United States, if you happen to live north of the road that stretches from San Francisco to Richmond, Virginia, it’s difficult to make more vitamin D from sunlight in the autumn, winter, and spring.See map below).
If you don't get enough vitamin D from the sun or food, a complement is smart. Taking 1,000 or 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day is comparatively protected. The protected upper limit is 4,000 IU a day, but take note that there may be very limited research on the long-term safety of taking this amount. “More is not necessarily better when it comes to vitamins,” says Dr. Manson.
Latitude and vitamin D production within the skin
Except in the summertime months, if there’s any vitamin D obtained from the sun at latitudes above 37 degrees north of the sun (within the United States, the shaded area on the map) or below 37 degrees south of the equator, the body gets an excessive amount of vitamin D. Makes less.