Vitamin D: 5 reasons it’s good for you
There’s solid evidence that vitamin D is important for your body. But about half of all Americans aren’t getting enough of it. And research from a study led by Joseph B. Muhlestein, MD, of Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, found that 70 percent of children have low levels of vitamin D.
Vitamin D can prevent bone loss. Also, if you aren’t getting enough vitamin D, you may be increasing your risk for these five conditions:
- diabetes
- high blood pressure
- stroke
- heart failure
- some types of cancer
(Although studies show associations with these diseases, there is no proof that treatment with vitamin D lessens your risk, except that it helps decrease the risk of falls and fractures in older people.)
How do you know if you’re getting enough vitamin D? Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa endocrinologist Jerry Minkoff, MD, explains, “If you avoid the sun or use sunscreen, or if you are dark-skinned, overweight, or over 50, you’re at greater risk of deficiency.”
Our preventive care guidelines currently recommend 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day for adults women 18 and older and men 50 and older. Since vitamin D is actually a hormone, not a vitamin, it’s not found in many foods.
An easy and safe way for adults to increase daily intake of vitamin D is to take a supplement with 1,000 IU every day. For more on this and other vitamins, visit the natural medicines database.
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