Jury Still Out On Vitamin D Benefits

The Daunting Debate about the benefits of vitamin D  (protection againt heart disease, diabetes, fractures, and some cancers) is not going away. Just one year after a panel of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine raised the recommended daily dosage to 600 international units, a major review of research on the benefits of the vitamin has come up Dry. The Boston Globe reports that when researchers at the Tufts Medical Center examined 19 clinical trials comparing supplements with placebos, they found that fractures could be reduced in those who took calcium along with vitamin D, but that the biggest benefits were seen for elderly people in nursing homes. And when the researchers looked for evidence that that the vitamin could stave off cancer, some studies claimed a slight benefit, others found none, and some found an increased risk of cancer. Wait there’s more. The Globe reports that second research review published this week found insufficient evidence to support the claim that vitamin D supplementation can protect against heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. The authors wrote that while population studies have shown that those with high vitamin D levels get fewer heart attacks and strokes, “several possible scenarios, including the influence of confounders, may explain these associations.” Read more in the Boston Globe.

Read about possible dangers of too much vitamin D.