New Recommendations by the Institute of Medicine Regarding Daily Vitamin D Intake

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It’s not news that we all need adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D in our diets, but how do you know just how much you need? While a visit with your physician is necessary to fully determine what is right for you, a recent announcement from the Institute of Medicine has set new standards for daily recommendations of these important elements of our daily diet.

With its announcement on November 30, 2010, the Institute of Medicine has updated its recommendations for vitamin D and calcium intake. If you want to know if you are incorporating enough of these supplements into your diet, read on!

It was previously recommended that healthy adults under the age of 71 should get 200 to 400 international units (IU) per day and 600 IU per day for those over age 71. Now, the IOM is recommending an increase to 600 IU for healthy individuals under age 71 and 800 for those over age 71.

The IOM does advise that some individuals may require more, especially those who get limited exposure to the sun or who habitually wear sun screen and protective clothing, those with dark skin, those suffering from osteoporosis, those who are taking medications that interfere with the absorption of vitamin D, and those who have problems absorbing dietary fat.

For the past two years, the National Osteoporosis Foundation has given its recommendation of 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily for healthy individuals ages 19 to 49 and 800 to 1,000 IU for those over age 50. It should be noted that while the recommendations of the NOF for daily intake of vitamin D are noticeably higher than those of the IOM, they still remain within a safe range. In fact, a report distributed by the IOM on November 30, 2010, indicated that the safe upper limit to be 4,000 IU. It should be noted, however, that this particular report did not suggest vitamin D requirements for high-risk individuals.

For more relevant information about this topic, please visit www.iom.edu or www.nof.org. Be good to your bones! They are the only ones you have!

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