Americans Need More Vitamin D

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 Americans Need More Vitamin D

 

The " sunshine vitamin, " vitamin D, is increasingly seen as vital to health, yet

more Americans are not getting enough, U.S. researchers said on Monday..

Analyzing data from government health surveys, researchers from the University

of Colorado Denver School of Medicine found three out of four Americans had

" insufficient " levels of vitamin D, up from about one out two 20 years ago.

A simple blood test can determine whether someone has what most researchers

believe is an ideal level of vitamin D of between 30 and 40 nanograms per

milliliter of blood.

Getting enough can be simple: spend 10 minutes in the sun with legs and arms

exposed, or take vitamin supplements in pill form.

" But people's habits have changed ... they are less active and outdoors less,

and also protecting their skin from the sun because of skin cancer risk, " said

Dr. Adit Ginde, who with colleagues did the study published in the Archives of

Internal Medicine.

Slathering on sunscreen and wearing clothing and hats to protect skin from the

sun's rays also halts production of vitamin D in the skin.

Traditionally, vitamin D has been seen as vital to bone health and to prevent

rickets, but recent discoveries show many types of cells in the body contain

vitamin D receptors, which indicates they use vitamin D in some way, Ginde said.

The vitamin regulates 1,000 genes, he said, and is believed to have a role in

preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer, and regulating the immune system.

Food can boost vitamin D levels, but only a few foods contain significant

amounts. Those include some types of fish -- salmon, sardines, tuna and mackerel

-- and most dairy products that are enriched with the vitamin. But the amounts

in dairy are primarily designed to keep people from falling into the deficient

category, Ginde said.

" Given the guidelines currently existing, most Americans could use more vitamin

D, " Ginde said.

Copyright Reuters

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