There is no high quality evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to prevent disease, according to new research.
Looking at a large sample of published research, researchers from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland concluded that there were no benefits to taking vitamin D supplements for muscle and bone health.
Vitamin D is produced by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight and it helps maintain calcium levels in the body, which keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
According to the study published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ) Wednesday, based on the results of the clinical trials, vitamin D supplements do not help make bones stronger nor do they show any benefit for other conditions such as heart disease, cancer or strokes.
They added that any ongoing trial results are unlikely to change these conclusions.
The study’s lead author Associate Professor Mike Bolland said that a healthy balanced diet and the occasional exposure to sunshine is enough to reach the daily vitamin D requirement, with the exception of individuals who are severely deficient in vitamin D.
However, this is a controversial area of researchas other experts say that taking a vitamin D supplement during the winter and autumn months could be beneficial, or at least not harmful.
Most people get enough vitamin D during the spring and the summer but in the darker months the only other source of the crucial nutrient is from foods such as red meat, oily fish, egg yolks and milk.
“One supplement that all kids need is vitamin D. It is absolutely crucial for children at all stages of growth and development,” registered dietitian Nishta Saxena told CTV’s Your Morningon Thursday.
In a “Head To Head” BMJ debate published on Wednesday Dr. Louis Levy, head of nutrition science at Public Health England, also advises a daily vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms in the winter months. “It's difficult to get enough through diet alone," he wrote, adding that: "[it’s] unlikely to result in harmful levels of vitamin D."
While Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, wrote that despite all the research "highly convincing evidence of a clear role of vitamin D does not exist for any outcome."
Health Canada currently recommends between 10 mcg and 20 mcg per day depending on age, sex and if you’re pregnant or not.
However, these recommendations have not been updated since 2010, and Health Canada notes that, based on the latest research, there doesn’t appear to be “wide-spread vitamin D deficiency in the Canadian population.”
