Vitamin D

Noel Peterson, ND

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1998;338:777-83) points to the surprising widespread incidence of vitamin D deficiency. As many as 60% of the 290 adults studied during admission to Massachusetts General Hospital had insufficient levels of the bone-building vitamin. What's more is that 46% of those who said they took a vitamin supplement regularly were also deficient in vitamin D.

Osteomalacia or softening of the bone tissues results from chronic vitamin D deficiency, and the onset of osteoporosis usually follows. Chief dietary sources of vitamin D are tuna, salmon, and other oily fish, along with eggs and fortified dairy products. Recent federal recommendations call for doubling the 200 IU RDA for people over 50 and tripling the amount for those over 70.