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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Everywhere you turn there is news about the importance of vitamin D, yet it is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population does not get enough of this important nutrient. New guidelines, just issued from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences, recommends higher intakes of vitamin D for Americans and Canadians.
The old recommended daily intake of vitamin D for Canada and the US is 200 IUs for people up to age 50, 400 IUs between 51 and 70, and 600 IUs for those over age 70. The new recommendations suggest 600 for everyone aged 1 to 70. For those over 70 years old, 800 IUs daily are recommended. To get this level it is likely that people would need to supplement with vitamin D as it is only found naturally at high levels in a few foods.
Though the body can make vitamin D from sunlight most of us do not get enough through this route. Use of sunscreen, darker skin and living in northern areas of the world all limit sun exposure. Genetics and age also play a part in how well we make vitamin D in the body. When setting the new recommendations the IOM assumed people would be getting minimal sun exposure.
Nutrition experts are learning more and more about the importance of maintaining optimal vitamin D status throughout life. The vitamin is important for keeping your bones strong. It is critical for a healthy immune system and may protect against cancer and heart disease. New information suggests that people with lower levels of vitamin D have a greater chance of dying from heart failure than people with normal levels.
To meet the population’s need for vitamin D, more and more foods are being fortified. The fortification occurs in two forms: D2 from yeast, and D3 from the lanolin in sheep’s wool . A new study clearly shows that either form of vitamin D is effeciently absorbed and used by the body. Why is this important?
For strict vegetarians D3 is not an acceptable additive for food as it comes from an animal source. Currently, most fortified orange juice is fortified with vitamin D3. If manufacturers substituted with D2, fortified brands would be a good source of vitamin D for strict vegetarians. This is an important issue as the major food sources of vitamin D are: oily fish (herring, salmon, sardines), egg yolk, butter and liver. Vegetarians get their vitamin D primarily through sun exposure or fortified foods like cereal, grains and bread. For nonvegetarians the major source of vitamin D is fortified milk along with fortified yogurt and margarine.
You should know – an interesting “D” fact.
All mushrooms contain some vitamin D, but similar to humans, mushrooms can naturally produce more of the vitamin when exposed to sunlight. Growers who expose their mushrooms to more sunlight or a sunlamp can markedly increase the level of the vitamin. For portabella mushrooms exposed to extra light, 1 mushroom can provide close to 400 IUs of vitaimin D. The normal level would be 84 IUs of the vitamin. Brands with exta vitamin will list these values on the nutrition label.
The primary job of the vitamin D in the body is to regulate levels of calcium. Infants are born with stores of the vitamin that last about 9 months. Breastmilk is low, so pediatricians recommend supplementation for breastfeeding babies. Formula fed babies will get their vitamin D from formula fortification and both will get vitamin D from whole milk when they are weaned.
For adults, vitamin D deficiency results in osteomalacia, which causes softening of the bones, bowing of the legs, and an increased risk for fractures. Many Arab women, even though they live in sunny climates, suffer from osteomalacia because of their full clothing that may leave only their eye area exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is also partly responsible for osteoporosis (adult bone thinning).
In theory, sunlight exposure can meet our daily requirement for vitamin D through synthesis in the skin when it is exposed to UV light. Because of concerns about sun damage and skin cancer, sunscreens are widely used. They protect the skin but totally block the UV rays needed to make vitamin D. Depending on where you live (Florida versus Maine), 5 to 30 minutes of sun exposure on the arms and legs, twice a week, is adequate to make vitamin D. Though most of us can produce vitamin D in the body, as we age this production decreases. That is why the recommendations for the vitamin increases as we get older and supplementation may be needed.
Some experts argue that vitamin D is not really a vitamin but acts in the body more like a hormone. Hormone or vitamin, it really doesn’t matter. We all need this important substance. Don’t be D-ficient.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales in excess of 8.5 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller.
Current titles include:
The Calorie Counter, 5th Ed., 2010
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2009
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008
The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd Ed., 2007
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to The Nutrition Experts
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