A review study in the venerable New England Journal of
Medicine (God speaking) concludes that post-menopausal women can reduce their
risk of hip fracture by about 30 % with the use of at least 800 IU of vitamin
D/day.
As usual, lots of buts, though.
The study did not look at the use of calcium, which is
often recommended for the same purpose (i.e. to reduce the risk of fracture)
but which in supplement form has been linked to a higher risk of heart attack
and stroke.
Nor did the study look at what might happen to people who
take too much vitamin D, which is very likely to occur from the millions of
people who invariably believe that if a little of something is good for you, a
lot of that same thing must be even better (another recent study, for example,
found a significantly increased risk of kidney stones in people who take
calcium and vitamin D supplements).
Nor did it look at the various forms of vitamin D to see
if there‘s any difference in effect on bone health or overall health (vitamin D
3, for example, is said to be much more effective than vitamin D 2, although
most supplements come in the form of vitamin D 2).
Nor did this study examine the pretty well-accepted theory
that the dose of vitamin D required for maximum bone health likely varies
significantly from person to person.
Overall, I think, it’s still best to try to get your
vitamin D from natural sources (milk, fish, eggs, and sun), and only when you
don’t think you’re getting enough vitamin D from such sources, should you
consider supplements.
