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Study Finds that Vitamin D Supplements Don't Improve Bone Health

posted by martyb on Friday October 05 2018, @11:32PM   
from the drink-your-milk dept.

takyon writes:

Vitamin D supplements don't improve bone health, major study finds

Vitamin D supplements do not improve bone mineral density or prevent fractures or falls in adults, finds a large study that advises health professionals to stop recommending the supplements to most patients.

[...] "Our meta-analysis finds that vitamin D does not prevent fractures, falls or improve bone mineral density, whether at high or low dose," lead author Dr. Mark J. Bolland, associate professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said in a statement. The findings add to previous research suggesting that vitamin D supplements do not prevent disease for the majority.

The research, published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology [DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(18)30265-1] [DX], analyzed data from 81 randomized controlled trials -- involving more than 53,000 people -- that studied whether the over-the-counter supplement helped in fractures, falls and bone density. Most studies included women over the age of 65. The team concluded that vitamin D does not prevent fractures or falls, or have a meaningful effect on bone mineral density, concluding that there is little justification in taking them to "maintain or improve musculoskeletal health," adding that there is no need for more trials to explore this.

But the research also concludes the supplement is helpful in preventing rare conditions such as rickets and osteomalacia in high risk groups, which can occur after a prolonged lack of exposure to sunshine, resulting in deficiency.

See also: Vitamin D pills - what's the truth?

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Original Submission

• Re:Study shows Vitamin D does not counteract graxi (Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Saturday October 06 2018, @02:40AM

  by c0lo (156) on Saturday October 06 2018, @02:40AM (#744932) Journal

  It seems to me that the general consensus on vitamin supplements is that they're pretty much useless for anyone with healthy levels

  Actually is worse than that for fat-soluble vitamins - the water soluble ones are simple, you just piss the excess during the next day (try taking at once 3-4 pills of a complex of B vitamin - you'll just stain your toilet bowl)

  A famous case of acute vitamin A hypervitaminosis [wikipedia.org]

  The cause of [Xavier] Mertz's death has never been firmly established; the commonly purported theory is hypervitaminosis A (an excessive intake of vitamin A) from consuming the livers of the Huskies.

  And Vitamin D is also fat soluble, and has some not quite desirable effects [wikipedia.org]

  An excess of vitamin D causes abnormally high blood concentrations of calcium, which can cause overcalcification of the bones, soft tissues, heart and kidneys. In addition, hypertension can result. Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity may include the following:
  * Dehydration
  * Irritability
  * Fatigue
  * Muscle weakness
  * Metastatic calcification of the soft tissues

  --
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

  Parent

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