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The Big D

The "sunshine vitamin" is more important than you think. Here's how much you need, and why.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

You've probably known for years that you need vitamin D for healthy bones. But some surprising new research suggests that the sunshine vitamin may actually help you live longer.

And here's one more thing you may not know: You're probably not getting enough.

According to a recent article published in The New England Journal of Medicine, some studies suggest that between 40 and 100 percent of older Americans and Europeans are low in vitamin D. More than half of postmenopausal women taking medicine for osteoporosis are D-deficient. And half of all African-American children and adults in the United States need more of the nutrient.

That's a big problem, since people low on vitamin D could be shortening their lives. Recently researchers in Lyon, France, and Milan, Italy, reviewed 18 studies that followed more than 57,000 older adults in the United States, Britain, and Europe over about five and a half years. They found that overall, people taking vitamin D supplements were 7 percent less likely to die during the studies than those on a placebo.

Experts aren't sure why vitamin D seemed to help these people live longer. But the vitamin's benefits seem undeniable; other studies have found that in addition to building strong bones and muscles, vitamin D may help boost your immune system and even prevent some forms of cancer.

"It's a new concept," says Michael Holick, Ph.D., M.D., professor of medicine at Boston University Medical Center and author of The UV Advantage. "We now know that every tissue in the body has a receptor for vitamin D, and requires vitamin D for maximum health."

To make sure you're getting enough, Holick recommends taking a vitamin D supplement of 1,000 IUs every day. That's more than the current Recommended Daily Allowance for older adults, but many doctors now say the RDA should be increased.

Neil Binkley, M.D., Associate Professor of Geriatrics and Endocrinology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, seconds Holick's advice, although he's cautious of touting vitamin D as a cure-all.

"It's not the fountain of youth," he says. But like Holick, Binkley thinks everyone should be getting their daily dose of D. "I gave my mother a bottle for Christmas," he says.

Go to ELDR.com/resources for links to more info on vitamin D.

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