Bone Health | Immunity | Overall Health

Vitamin D

1500 IU
,
See label
  • Improved bone health
  • Possible longevity benefit
  • Possible immunity benefit

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Why we recommend

To assess vitamin D benefits, we compared results from multiple systematic reviews that review the literature.1,2,3,4,5

One of the most compelling drivers for our recommendation comes from the health society guidelines. For those over the age of 50, 6 of 8 health society guidelines recommend vitamin D.3 For adults of all ages, 4 of 7 guidelines recommend vitamin D for the general population (See research benefits below).3

Additionally for vitamin D:

  • Across 9 studies, fractures were reduced in the elderly.4
  • 3 of 7 studies showed reduction in respiratory infection,2 suggesting a possible immunity benefit
  • In 8 of 12 systematic reviews, mortality was decreased.2

Bone health and immunity are important parts of health, but a reduction in mortality is always quite interesting. In this case, the reduced mortality really highlights how important immunity and bone health are. First, improved immunity can reduce death from infectious diseases. Second, when the elderly break bones, it tends to accelerate age-related diseases because you can't move around for a few months. We can't say for sure what caused the reduced mortality in these 12 systematic reviews, but a stronger immune system and stronger bones can have a big impact.

To conclude, according to the US dietary guidelines, 90% of US adults are below the recommended vitamin D levels.6 Thus, if you do not get enough sun, your bones will benefit from vitamin D supplementation, and you might get immunity benefits too. Dive into the research, below!

Research benefits

Mortality
Low or no impact
Highlights:

8 out of 12 systematic reviews showed a reduction in mortality from vitamin D Supplementation (Rejnmark, 2017). The US preventive services task force did not find a statistically significant reduction when combining across their studies.

...

Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force, 2018 (1), Rejnmark, 2017 (2).

Bone Health
Positive Impact
Highlights:

Combined data from 9 trials showed a statistically significant reduction in any fracture among elderly that took calcium and vitamin d supplements vs placebo (Avenell, 2014).

Across the studies reviewed by this cochrane review, there was a small, 2.6% improvement for bone mineral content in vitamin D deficient children (Winzenburg, 2010).

...

Sources: Avenell, 2014 (4); Winzenburg, 2010 (5).

Immunity
Low or no impact
Highlights:

3 of 7 meta analyses of trials have shown vitamin D may reduce the risk of respiratory infection.

...

Source: Rejnmark, 2017 (2).

Harms
Kidney Risk
Highlights:

2 of 3 large trials and 2 of 3 cohort studies showed an increased risk of kidney stones with 7 years of vitamin D use, especially above 1000 IU / day or more.

...

Source: US Preventive Services Task Force, 2018 (1).

References

    References

    1. O’Connor EA, Evans CV, Ivlev I, et al. Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2021 Jun. (Evidence Synthesis, No. 209.) Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK581642/
    2. Rejnmark L, Bislev LS, Cashman KD, Eiríksdottir G, Gaksch M, Grübler M, Grimnes G, Gudnason V, Lips P, Pilz S, van Schoor NM, Kiely M, Jorde R. Non-skeletal health effects of vitamin D supplementation: A systematic review on findings from meta-analyses summarizing trial data. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 7;12(7):e0180512. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180512. PMID: 28686645; PMCID: PMC5501555.
    3. Dai Z, McKenzie JE, McDonald S, Baram L, Page MJ, Allman-Farinelli M, Raubenheimer D, Bero LA. Assessment of the Methods Used to Develop Vitamin D and Calcium Recommendations-A Systematic Review of Bone Health Guidelines. Nutrients. 2021 Jul 15;13(7):2423. doi: 10.3390/nu13072423. PMID: 34371932; PMCID: PMC8308557.
    4. Avenell A, Mak JC, O'Connell D. Vitamin D and vitamin D analogues for preventing fractures in post-menopausal women and older men. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Apr 14;2014(4):CD000227. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000227.pub4. PMID: 24729336; PMCID: PMC7032685.
    5. Winzenberg TM, Powell S, Shaw KA, Jones G. Vitamin D supplementation for improving bone mineral density in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Oct 6;(10):CD006944. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006944.pub2. PMID: 20927753.
    6. U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 2020. Available at DietaryGuidelines.gov.
    7. Sabine Kuznia, Anna Zhu, Taisuke Akutsu, Julie E. Buring, Carlos A. Camargo Jr, Nancy R. Cook, Li-Ju Chen, Ting-Yuan David Cheng, Sari Hantunen, I.-Min Lee, JoAnn E. Manson, Rachel E. Neale, Robert Scragg, Aladdin H. Shadyab, Sha Sha, John Sluyter, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, Mitsuyoshi Urashima, Jyrki K. Virtanen, Ari Voutilainen, Jean Wactawski-Wende, Mary Waterhouse, Hermann Brenner, Ben Schöttker, Efficacy of vitamin D3 supplementation on cancer mortality: Systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, Ageing Research Reviews, Volume 87, 2023, 101923, ISSN 1568-1637, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2023.101923.
    8. Cedric F. Garland, Edward D. Gorham, Sharif B. Mohr, Frank C. Garland, Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention: Global Perspective, Annals of Epidemiology, Volume 19, Issue 7, 2009, Pages 468-483, ISSN 1047-2797, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.03.021.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279709001057)
    9. Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Gordon CM, Hanley DA, Heaney RP, et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011;96:1911-30.
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