- Vitamin D Council >
- News
- > Vitamin D news
Vitamin D news
New Guidelines Suggest Higher Doses of Vitamin D
06 June 2011
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News
June 6, 2011 -- Noting that vitamin D deficiency is "very common in all age groups," new treatment guidelines call for many Americans to take more vitamin D than is currently recommended.
The guidelines, from the Endocrine Society, offer some contradictory advice. They say that virtually everyone in the U.S. should be taking vitamin D supplements, but that only those at risk for vitamin D deficiency should have their vitamin D blood levels checked.
Only those whose serum 25(OH)D blood levels are above 30 ng/mL are getting enough vitamin D. Lower levels are "insufficient," and those with levels below 20 ng/mL are frankly deficient.
But much higher levels are better, says guideline committee chairman Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, director of the vitamin D skin and bone research lab at Boston University.
"The committee decided that 30 ng/mL is the minimum level, and recommended 40 to 60 ng/mL for both children and adults," Holick said at an online news conference.
So who's at risk of vitamin D deficiency? Quite a few of us:
- Children of all ages
- Pregnant and nursing women
- Obese people
- Darker-skinned Americans, particularly those of African or Hispanic descent
- Anyone with a malabsorption syndrome, such as cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease, or inflammatory bowel disease
- Anyone who has had bariatric surgery
- Anyone with osteoporosis, osteomalacia, or an elderly person who's had a fall or fracture
- People with chronic kidney disease
- People with liver failure
- People taking antiseizure medications, glucocorticoids, AIDS drugs, or antifungal drugs
- People with granuloma-forming disorders such as tuberculosis and sarcoidosis
And even more of us are at risk of vitamin D insufficiency, as studies find that it's relatively common for people to have vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL.
Few foods carry much vitamin D other than salmon and mackerel. Milk and some orange juice is fortified with small doses...
Read rest of article at webmd.com.
Page last edited: 30 June 2011