Vitamin D Gets Its Day In The Sun

Main Category: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 22 May 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Vitamin D is receiving its "day in the sun" recently as a result of conflicting scientific reports and inconsistent recommendations from health agencies about the health benefits of vitamin D. There are also discussions about the dietary requirement to support health benefits and the best sources of the nutrient for humans. Consumers and health professionals are confused! To shed light on the issues, Dietitians of Canada (DC) has released a review document that focuses on vitamin D recommendations to promote bone health from pregnancy to the senior years. It also addresses more recent research regarding non-bone functions of vitamin D, including prevention of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 and type-2 diabetes.

"At present it is difficult to reach consensus on vitamin D recommendations that reflect all known and newly proposed functions," explains Stephanie A. Atkinson, PhD, author of the DC review paper. "Health Canada has announced plans to work with the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine to revise the current Dietary Reference Intakes [DRIs] on vitamin D. In the meantime, the public needs to be aware of the many factors that affect vitamin D status and know how to obtain vitamin D from food or supplements," continues Atkinson.

Breast-fed infants and adults over 50 years should take a supplement of 400 IU of vitamin D per day. Persons with darkly pigmented skin, who are rarely or never exposed to the sun, or who do not eat fatty fish and vitamin D fortified milk and other products regularly, may be 'at-risk' for vitamin D insufficiency and should consult a health professional for advice on vitamin D.

Dietitians of Canada represents almost 6,000 dietitians across Canada and is committed to promoting the health and well-being of consumers through food and nutrition. For trusted information on nutrition and healthy eating and to register to receive DC's regular nutrition updates, visit Dietitians of Canada award-winning website at http://www.dietitians.ca.

Dietitians of Canada