FifthItamin D makes a lot of your body, supporting strong bones, muscle movement, your immune system, and more. Eating vitamin D supplement may seem fast and easy to enhance these benefits – but doctors say there are some things to know first.
“There is no doubt that vitamin D is necessary for good health,” says Dr. Joan Manson, head of the Preventive Medicine Department at Brigham Hospital and Women’s Hospital, who is looking for vitamin D supplements. “The question is: Do we really need to take nutritional supplements?”
It is often recommended by vitamin D supplements when you are incomplete. In the United States, 35 % of adults suffer from vitamin D deficiency, according to L. National Library of Medicine. Obesity people may be more than 65 years old, or have darker skin more likely to be risk – and about 50 % to 60 % of the nursing house and patients in hospitals suffer from vitamin D deficiency.
Here are what experts say about eating vitamin D.
Many sources of vitamin D
Vitamin D is “nutrients that the body can actually make” from sunlight.
“Everything is in moderation,” says Dr. Ksenia Kobits, director of cosmetic dermatology and assistant professor of pathology in Montefior Einstein. Many UV rays can cause skin cancer and accelerate skin aging.
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Kobets recommend more than 15 minutes a day from naked skin exposure to the production of vitamin D; Moreover, the SPF 30 or the highest is necessary to protect your skin.
Manson says vitamin D also through foods including fatty fish, liver, beef, egg liver, cheese and mushrooms. Other nutritional sources-such as milk, breakfast, and dairy alternatives based on plants-vitamin.
Health benefits for vitamin D
Manson says vitamin D “is necessary for almost all members of our bodies.” Vitamin D receptors are found in blood vessels, brain, immune system and tissues.
Vitamin helps your body absorb calcium and maintain adequate calcium levels, making your bones strong, helping them to grow, and prevents mitigation and fragility National Institutes of Health.
Vitamin D can also help reduce inflammation in the body, improve immune functions, and increase cell growth. Your immune system needs to defend bacteria and viruses, according to National Library of Medicine. The muscles need vitamin D to move and work properly, and the nerves depend on them to send messages between your mind and the rest of your body.
Do nutritional supplements provide the same benefits?
Vitamin D supplements were described to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke; Improving brain performance; And reduce the possibility of bone fractures. However, the research did not show a strong link for the cause and the result.
“When you back away from a step, and literature retracts, we find that unless you are completely incomplete, vitamin D supplements are not effective,” says Bergwitz.
For example, in 2023 A random experience controlled Posted in the Diabetes and endocrineMore than 21,000 elderly elderly have taken vitamin D supplements or imaginary medicine for five years. Researchers did not find a big difference between the two groups when it comes to the risk of bone interpretation. 2024 Ticket Posted in Internal Medicine Magazine He suggested that vitamin D supplements do not reduce the rate of developing fractures of the healthy elderly.
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Since 2009, Manson has been working with other researchers Vitamin D and omega -3 (Vital), a continuous random experience for more than 25,800 adults to study whether taking 2000 IUs (IUS) of vitamin D or omega -3 fatty acids reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer, compared to the imaginary drug.
Manson says that the research did not show a clear benefit for vitamin D supplements in a lowering My heart or cancer risk, Reducing bone fracturesOr decrease Cognitive retreat.
However, she says that the vital study showed that vitamin D supplements may have benefits in reducing the risk of development Honorable immunityLike rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, or Advanced Cancer (Al -Lakhili).
When you should (and should not) take vitamin D supplements
Manson says that most people get enough vitamin D from their diet or sunlight, and they will not need nutritional supplements. But for those who suffer from deficiency – which can be confirmed by blood test – it is necessary to be necessary.
“It is usually a deep decrease in vitamin D to have a clear benefit of supplements,” she says.
Pergouts says that people who tend to stay inside for long periods may not get enough vitamin D from sunlight. The risk of deficiency in the winter may rise when it is likely to be inside or if you do not eat foods rich in vitamin D.
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If you suffer from bone disease, liver disease, digestive disorders, or inflammatory bowel disease, you may face a problem in absorbing vitamin D and you need to take nutritional supplements. Harvard University Medical College. Bergwitz says it may be recommended by vitamin D for women during menopause.
Signs of vitamin D deficiency include fatigue, bone pain, muscle pain, cramps, mood changes, or depression, according to Cleveland clinic.
When doctors are suspected of vitamin D deficiency in vitamin D, they often measure your calcium levels and may recommend that this minerals be supplemented as well, says Bergowitz.
How much should you take vitamin D?
The recommended vitamin D supplements for adults under the age of 65 600 to 800 Ius Daily and 800 to 1000 Ius for those over the age of 65. But the correct dose may also depend on your health, so check with your doctor.
Manson says that vitamin D supplements are safe for most people. However, you can take a lot. Long More than 4000 Ius Today can be risky, and may cause nausea, muscle weakness, vomiting, confusion, loss of appetite, kidney stones, excessive thirst and urination.
Manson says that you cannot get a lot of vitamin D from sunlight because the body naturally reduces the amount of vitamins it makes.
What are you looking for in the vitamin D supplement
Dietary supplements are not so organizer By the American Food and Drug Administration, such as the prescription and unimaginable medicines. Manson recommends looking for products with a third -party quality test, such as USMacopeia (USP) or NSf certificate.
Check the dose, too, suggests Bergowitz. The nutritional supplement bottle can be expensive when you have to take multiple pills for each dose. “You should always calculate the price of vitamin D supplement based on the price for each meal, it does not depend on the price for each pill,” he explains.
Also review the ingredient menu and choose nutritional supplements with the lowest number of the menu, adds Kobets. If you ever doubt the vitamin D supplement (or any other), it suggests bringing the product to the next doctor’s date and asked them to look at it.
Although these supplements are generally safe and sometimes necessary, Manson says that the best ways for most people to maintain healthy levels are of time in the open air and diet. She says that nutritional supplements “may seem easier” to emerge as a vitamin pill “, but nutritional supplements” will not be a substitute for a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle. ”
