Confused by all the back and forth in the media about vitamin D?
Don’t be. There’s actually a pretty easy and straightforward approach that most older adults can take.
In this post, I’ll explain what I recommend to most of my older patients, and why.
I’ll also address the following frequently asked questions:
- Which type of Vitamin D should I take?
- Do I need to have my vitamin D blood level checked?
- What should one’s vitamin D level be?
- Will vitamin D really prevent falls or fractures?
- Will vitamin D prevent dementia, cancer, and/or premature death?
- I am outside a lot. Do I need a vitamin D supplement?
- I heard that a higher level of vitamin D is better for you. How much is too much?
By the way, I maintain this post in part because a few years back, I was disappointed by the recent NY Times article “Why Are So Many People Popping Vitamin D?”
Among other things, that article should have had a different headline. The key problem the article described is that there are too many people being tested for vitamin D. The article did not make the case that too many people are taking vitamin D supplements.
In fact, vitamin D supplementation remains recommended by experts. And as I’ll explain below, there are good reasons to believe that vitamin D supplementation is especially useful for older adults. [Read more…]