There is so much evidence today that shows the value of vitamin D and as such, it is gaining the respect it needs. Vitamin D offers vast health benefits but why are we still ignoring it? We have grown convinced that sun exposure is bad for your skin, and as such we ladder our body with sunscreen lotions to protect us from the the sun. However, we are not looking at the side effects of these sunscreens which block the ability of the skin to make vitamin D while expose to sun. Between the advice to stay out of the sun or applying sunscreens our practices have contributed to 65 to 85 percent of American adults having a vitamin D defficiency.
Robert Heaney, M.D, a bone mineral specialist and professor at Creighton University on Omaha, Nebraska, urges adults to supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day. He warns that a shortfall on this vitamin puts our bone health in danger and increases the risk of rheumatoid arthitis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis and type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D also plays a crucial role in preventing Osteoporosis according to Dr. Heaney.
New research also finds that supplementation of Vitamin D prolongs life. After reviewing data from 57,000 people involved in 18 different trials, researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France found that taking vitamin D supplements lowered the risk of death by 7 percent (assumes daily supplementation of 300 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D).