WASHINGTON—A new Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study underscores the importance of vitamin D and its ability to help the body utilize calcium to reduce bone fractures and may explain why increasing calcium alone isn’t always successful in dealing with this problem.
The study examined about 10,000 men and women aged 20 and older participating in a nationally representative survey. Blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are used as the primary indicator of vitamin D adequacy. Within the study sample of U.S. adults, a large fraction of younger and older adults were below a suggested desirable serum vitamin D concentration of at least 75 nanomoles-per-liter (nmol/L).
The study supports the idea that correcting inadequate blood levels of vitamin D is more important than increasing dietary calcium intake beyond 566 mg a day among women and 626 mg a day among men for better bone mineral density. For example, a higher calcium intake beyond 566 mg a day only may be important among women whose vitamin D concentrations are low (less than 50 nmol/L), the authors wrote.
