News
Higher levels of Vitamin D recommended by IOM committee; low recommendations disappoint some experts
The Columbus Dispatch
Experts advising national health leaders on how much vitamin D and calcium is best for us are calling for more vitamin D than previously recommended, but say that most of us already get plenty.
Many people watching the flurry of studies showing the benefits of vitamin D expected a bigger jump in the daily recommended allowance from the Institute of Medicine committee, which released its report this morning.
As vitamin D has received more attention, doctors have been running more tests looking for deficiencies and encouraging more supplements.
“It’s nothing to get told ‘Take 5,000 units a day,’” said Shirley Kindrick, team leader for the Comprehensive Weight Management Program at Ohio State.
Many of Dr. Elena Christofides’ patients are on much more than that, she said, and nobody leaves her office without a recommendation that they take a supplement.
She was appalled by the new recommendations and said that the committee should have given more consideration to research in areas including metabolism, immunity and muscle function.
“I think it’s extremely naive and shortsighted,” said Christofides, who practices at Endocrinology Associates in Columbus and said her patients have had no problems with kidney stones related to the supplements.
The U.S. and Canadian governments asked for guidance from the experts, who looked at more than 1,000 studies and reports and heard from scientists and others before arriving at their conclusions.
Recommendations haven’t changed since 1997. In the intervening years, many studies have looked at the relationship between calcium and vitamin D and a variety of health outcomes.
