5 Reasons Women Should Still Take Vitamin D

[Celebration]

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/heart-to-heart/2008/11/12/5-reasons-women-should-still-take-vitamin-d.html

1. Most Americans are vitamin D and calcium deficient. This is particularly so for the elderly, the obese, and those who have little or no sun exposure. (Estimates of insufficiency in vitamin D levels among those in the United States and Europe range from 40 percent to 100 percent.)

2. Several randomized trials have unequivocally shown the benefits of vitamin D supplementation, including an increase in bone density and a decrease in fractures.

3. Compelling evidence suggests taking vitamin D supplements results in a reduction of common cancers—including breast, prostate, and colon tumors—particularly when in people with low initial levels of vitamin D. But no definitive randomized trial has tested this at intake levels in the range of 1,000 IU.

4. Among experts in the field, there's a general consensus that current government guidelines for vitamin D intake in the range of 400 to 600 IU are inadequate for most people. The number should be twice that, many say.

5. With the exception of a small increase in kidney stones, there is no evidence of harm in taking vitamin D and calcium supplements.