We’ve had many discussions on this site about the benefits of vitamin D, and the topic has been getting much more press over the past several years. The benefits are significant, as the reduced risk of fracture is just one benefit of vitamin D. Vitamin D also helps maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, which is its main biological function. It also helps in the absorption of calcium and protects against osteoporosis and osteomalacia (hardens bones and teeth), against hypertension (high blood pressure), against cancer and against several autoimmune diseases and rickets in children. New research in the New England Journal of Medicine is out on the reduced risk of fracture in the elderly, concluding that it takes a daily dose of at least 800 international units (IU) to consistently prevent broken bones. Doses at this level were found to reduce the risk of hip fracture by 30 percent and other breaks by 14 percent while lower doses didn’t have any effect. Meanwhile the studies also suggest that too much calcium in the range of more than 1,000 mg per day can weaken the benefit.
As supplements like vitamin get more popular with more research results, more and more people are shopping for them online as the costs can add up. You can save a ton of money by doing your research and shopping around online on sites like Puritan’s Pride as opposed to walking into the first drugstore you find. There are many great online stores with significant discounts, and you can save money by using these Puritan’s Pride coupon codes.
Naturally, you should be consulting with your doctor as well, though keep in mind that many doctors will not address issues like supplements unless you bring up specific questions. One new study, however, makes all of this more difficult when it comes to vitamin D. Unfortunately, current testing methods for vitamin D levels are not very accurate. The main problems is that there is no official standardization for vitamin D testing, and “a single blood sample sent to 10 different labs could return 10 different test results.” Fortunately there is an effort to correct this problem but for the moment you need to keep this in mind when you get tested by your doctor.
