Many companies, such as SunnyD and Nestle use the vitamin as a marketing tool. However, a study shows that the Vitamin D additive does not help with deficiencies of the vitamin, nor does it protect against diseases and injuries. Now, many health experts question its benefits.
Vitamin D’s main purpose is to supply calcium to the body and prevent bone fractures. If a human has low levels of the substance, there would be more parathyroid hormone, which in small amounts are good, but large amounts can be a liability to bone strength. In addition, it can help fight cancer, stroke, and heart disease, strengthen sight and cognitive abilities (the ability to learn and remember more), and reduce migraine frequency and knee pain.
A large study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, called VITAL, tested the supplements in humans in various trials and experiments. Overall, there were 25,871 participants involved – men aged 50 or older and women aged 55 or older – that were given 2000 international units (IU) of Vitamin D.
The experiments’ findings were published in an editorial led by Dr. Steven R. Cummings, a research scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, and Dr. Clifford Rosen, a senior scientist at the Maine Medical Research Institute, both who heavily contributed to writing the article.
In it, scientists stated that the millions of Americans and labs that do tests on the substance should stop.
In fact, they also stated that everything vitamin D was “able to do” was false. It did not reduce any likelihood of getting a disease, nor was it able to help directly strengthen the eye or brain. In a study similar to VITAL conducted in Australia, it was concluded that Vitamin D did not increase life expectancy.
“Getting into such a severe vitamin D-deprived state is ‘very hard to do in the general population,’” stated Dr. Cummings. “Providers should stop screening for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels [A type of Vitamin D] or recommending vitamin D supplements and people should stop taking vitamin D supplements in order to prevent major diseases or extend life.”
However, VITAL did not prove any major drawbacks of the usage of Vitamin D. It “will do little or no harm and may have benefits,” stated Dr. Sundeep Khosla, a professor of medicine and physiology at the Mayo Clinic. He will keep prescribing and advising his patients with Osteoporosis (a medical condition where a person’s bones may be weak) and other related medical conditions 600-800 IU of Vitamin D per day.
Other Osteoporosis experts state, “It is “a simple intervention and I will continue to prescribe it.” But Dr. Cummings and Dr. Rosen remain firm on their decision. “If vitamin D doesn’t help, what is a vitamin D deficiency? That implies you should take vitamin D,” stated Dr. Cummings.
Vitamin D’s main purpose is to supply calcium to the body and prevent bone fractures. If a human has low levels of the substance, there would be more parathyroid hormone, which in small amounts are good, but large amounts can be a liability to bone strength. In addition, it can help fight cancer, stroke, and heart disease, strengthen sight and cognitive abilities (the ability to learn and remember more), and reduce migraine frequency and knee pain.
A large study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, called VITAL, tested the supplements in humans in various trials and experiments. Overall, there were 25,871 participants involved – men aged 50 or older and women aged 55 or older – that were given 2000 international units (IU) of Vitamin D.
The experiments’ findings were published in an editorial led by Dr. Steven R. Cummings, a research scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, and Dr. Clifford Rosen, a senior scientist at the Maine Medical Research Institute, both who heavily contributed to writing the article.
In it, scientists stated that the millions of Americans and labs that do tests on the substance should stop.
In fact, they also stated that everything vitamin D was “able to do” was false. It did not reduce any likelihood of getting a disease, nor was it able to help directly strengthen the eye or brain. In a study similar to VITAL conducted in Australia, it was concluded that Vitamin D did not increase life expectancy.
“Getting into such a severe vitamin D-deprived state is ‘very hard to do in the general population,’” stated Dr. Cummings. “Providers should stop screening for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels [A type of Vitamin D] or recommending vitamin D supplements and people should stop taking vitamin D supplements in order to prevent major diseases or extend life.”
However, VITAL did not prove any major drawbacks of the usage of Vitamin D. It “will do little or no harm and may have benefits,” stated Dr. Sundeep Khosla, a professor of medicine and physiology at the Mayo Clinic. He will keep prescribing and advising his patients with Osteoporosis (a medical condition where a person’s bones may be weak) and other related medical conditions 600-800 IU of Vitamin D per day.
Other Osteoporosis experts state, “It is “a simple intervention and I will continue to prescribe it.” But Dr. Cummings and Dr. Rosen remain firm on their decision. “If vitamin D doesn’t help, what is a vitamin D deficiency? That implies you should take vitamin D,” stated Dr. Cummings.
