What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin D?
For individuals looking to take control of their health, using vitamins and supplements can be an easy way to boost well-being. In recent years, vitamin D has started gaining more attention for its health benefits but despite its name, it’s actually a prohormone. While in general vitamins are nutrients that the body cannot synthesize itself, vitamin D is an exception which our bodies produce in response to sun exposure.
Healthy Bones: Vitamin D’s role in keeping bones healthy is down to its ability to promote the absorption of calcium. A deficiency in older years can lead to osteoporosis or osteomalacia (bone softening). However, when it comes to dosage, it appears less is more. A 2019 study published in JAMA found that individuals who took high doses of vitamin D saw no increased benefit to their bone density compared to those on a moderate dose, and in some cases they even ended up worse off.
In a randomized clinical trial of 311 healthy adults, researchers sought to find out difference in bone density of individuals taking vitamin D at a recommended daily dose of 400 international units (IU), compared to those on higher daily doses of 4,000 IUs and 10,000 IUs.
Excerpted from Newsweek
