2023-10-06 09:34:47
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Vitamin D supplements do not help prevent disease for the majority of people, according to a new study published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal.
During the bleak winter months with short days and overcast skies, many people may seek out the benefits of sunlight in the form of a vitamin D supplement.
This vitamin, which the skin produces naturally when exposed to sunlight, is essential for maintaining the health of bones, teeth, and muscles, and preventing them from becoming fragile and at risk of fracture.
But a review of the evidence from clinical trials on the effects of nutritional supplements found that trying to get vitamin D through supplements is not that beneficial.
“We conclude that current evidence does not support the use of vitamin D supplements for disease prevention,” Mark Poland, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said in a statement.
Boland led the research with Alison Avenel, clinical lead for health sciences research at the University of Aberdeen.
According to the team, clinical trials have failed to show that nutritional supplements reduce the risk of falls and fractures in bones and muscles.
However, the team recognizes that it may be useful for people at high risk, such as those living in nursing homes and dark-skinned people living in cold climates.
For those at risk, researchers recommend consuming supplements during the fall and winter, but they also suggest getting advice on the best way to get vitamin D naturally.
“Vitamin D will protect people at high risk,” Avnel said.
Natural sources
During the spring and summer seasons, people in remote areas in the northern and southern hemispheres, such as the American North and New Zealand, tend to produce a sufficient amount of vitamin D through sunlight through the skin and the foods they eat in their diet. This vitamin helps the body absorb calcium to promote bone growth.
But during the fall and winter, vitamin D levels decrease.
Eating the right foods, such as oily fish, egg yolks and red meat, helps maintain high levels of it in the body – something not everyone can achieve adequately.
Fortified foods, including milk, cereals, and spreads, provide vitamin D in the American diet, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“In the United States, vitamin D supplementation (through food) is higher,” Avnell reported.
However, in countries such as the UK, foods are not fortified to the same extent, so supplements are recommended.
Until recently, recommendations were mainly for people at risk of rickets and osteoporosis, but this summer, Public Health England advised that everyone should consume the equivalent of 10 micrograms a day.
“This is a big change,” Avnel said. “We don’t think the evidence supports this being necessary during the winter.”
The pros and cons of vitamin D have long been a topic of debate, but with this review questioning its benefit – except for those at high risk – many experts have pushed back, fearing the consequences if people stop taking it.
David Richardson, visiting professor of nutritional bioscience at the University of Reading, said: “Failure to address low vitamin D levels during childhood and adolescence, for women of reproductive age and in older people, can have serious long-term public health implications.”
He added: “Action is needed now in the face of growing evidence regarding the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.”
This view is agreed by Martin Hewison, professor of molecular endocrinology at the University of Birmingham, who said: “It is clear that people in the UK are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency, especially during the winter,” adding that supplements are “particularly relevant for people “Those at high risk for deficiency include those with darker skin from African and South Asian backgrounds; people forced to remain indoors; and people who cover their skin while outside.”
Hewison also highlighted the different levels of confusion that still exist around the issue.
He pointed out, “There is still some controversy regarding which levels of vitamin D are considered a deficiency, and this varies depending on the disease being studied.”
He continued: “(But) the takeaway message is that we need to know more regarding how vitamin D works before planning new clinical trials to evaluate its health benefits. In the meantime, Public Health England’s recommendations for vitamin D are conservative and reasonable, and people should follow them.” “.
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