For years, we’ve heard that taking high doses of vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, will help build strong bones. Maybe that’s why about a third of American adults 60 and older take vitamin D supplements.
We all need vitamin D, but an extensive new study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, finds that taking mega doses of vitamin D does not lower the risk of broken bones. It also does not prevent heart disease, cancer, or memory loss, the study found.
According to Dr. Susan Ott, an expert in bone disease at UW Medicine, taking a megadose of vitamin D can be harmful.
“You can get kidney stones, or even worsening osteoporosis, or possibly heart disease by taking too much vitamin D,” she said.
Medical experts commenting on this study in JAMA said we need to stop self-prescribing vitamin D supplements to prevent major diseases. And they said doctors should stop routine screenings that needlessly raise concerns about vitamin D levels.
“We all need to have some vitamin D,” Dr. Ott told me. “Young people can get it from the sunshine, but older people, I still think, need to have some. And it can come from foods that have vitamin D in it, like dairy products, or from a regular dose of vitamin D, which should not be more than 800 units a day.”
More Info: Study casts more doubt on use of high-dose vitamin D pills
