The Importance of Vitamin D

This news on the importance of Vitamin D:


By Randy Dotinga


HealthDay Reporter Wed Dec 28,11:47 PM ET


WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Forget the fiber. You may be able to fend off colon, breast or ovarian cancer by simply getting enough vitamin D, a new analysis of previous research suggests.


But if you're overweight, black, older or live in the Northeast, there's a good chance you're not getting enough vitamin D in your diet, said study co-author Cedric F. Garland, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.


The study authors found that several groups of people had low levels of vitamin D. Residents of the Northeast made up one group, perhaps because they miss out on vitamin D that's absorbed during exposure to the sun, Garland said. The obese had low levels, too, perhaps because they have trouble metabolizing vitamin D through their fatty tissues.


Other groups with low vitamin D levels include blacks -- they're five times more likely to be deficient than whites -- and the elderly, the researchers found.


"As we age, we lose the ability to convert vitamin D into its usable form, so elderly people are at greater risk," Sandon said.


And the increased skin pigmentation of blacks reduces their ability to synthesize vitamin D, the researchers said.


So what to do? The experts are divided on that answer.


Garland urges everyone to consume 1,000 International Units (IUs) a day of the active form of Vitamin D -- also known by its human form, Vitamin D3 -- which comes in yogurt, cheese, orange juice, fatty fish and milk.


By contrast, Sandon said adults aged 19 to 50 should get 200 IUs a day, equivalent to two glasses of fortified milk. People aged 50 to 70 should get 400 IUs, she said, while those 71 and older should get 700. But she acknowledged that "it is difficult to get this much vitamin D from food alone.


More information on Vitamin D:


Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is found in food and can also be made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Sunshine is a significant source of vitamin D because UV rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin.


So, a little tan is good for you!