Experts call for vitamin D level hike

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Experts call for vitamin D level hike

 

 

By Stephen Daniells

1/12/2007

 

 

The tolerable upper intake level for oral vitamin D3 should be increased

five-fold, experts from the US-based Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has

said after a review of the science.

 

The risk assessment provides companies with a guide for safe upper levels

for product formulations, and consumers with vital information on safe dosage

levels from products.

 

" This risk assessment was needed to show that newer evidence supports the

conclusion that vitamin D is much safer then previously thought, particularly

because of all the emergence research that shows benefit for vitamin D at

higher levels than consumers were traditionally taking, " lead author John

Hathcock told NutraIngredients.com.

 

Currently, the tolerable upper intake level (UL) in Europe and the US is set

at 2000 International Units (IU), equivalent to 50 micrograms per day.

However, recent research, particularly from clinical trials, suggests that this

should be raised. The CRN scientists state that this could be raised to 10,000

IU (250 micrograms per day).

 

" New data continue to emerge regarding the health benefits of vitamin D

beyond its role in bone, " wrote the reviewers in the American Journal of

Clinical

Nutrition.

 

" The intakes associated with those benefits suggest a need for levels of

supplementation, food fortification, or both that are higher than current

levels. "

 

The reviewers, from the CRN, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and Crieghton

University in Nebraska, pooled data from 21 clinical trials using doses

ranging from 10 to 2500 micrograms.

 

The risk assessment also included data from animal studies, some of which

used " extraordinarily high doses of vitamin D3 " .

 

" The lack of adverse effects in clinical trials that used intake up to 1250

micrograms vitamin D per day and the lack of adverse effects at lower doses

inspires a high level of confidence in the data from the strongly designed

clinical trials that used 250 micrograms vitamin D per day, " said the

reviewers.

 

The researchers also note that for practically all the reported cases of

vitamin D toxicity have involved doses that were in excess of those studied in

the clinical trials.

 

" Newer clinical trial data are sufficient to show that vitamin D is not

toxic at intakes much higher than previously considered unsafe, " said the

reviewers.

 

" This demonstrated safety profile of vitamin D should safely permit

increased intakes to achieve additional benefits of this vitamin at higher

levels

than previously recognised. "

 

Vitamin D is made by the body on exposure to sunshine, or can be consumed in

small amounts in milk, fish, liver and egg yolk. However because of the low

amounts present in the diet, and lack of sunshine in northern climates, with

some estimates claiming that as much as 60 per cent of northern populations

may be vitamin D deficient.

 

And since dietary intakes are small, the best method for getting adequate

levels of the vitamin appears to be from supplements and/or fortified foods.

 

Indeed, the reviewers note that normal dietary sources provide about 2.5

micrograms per day, while this can be increased up to 10 micrograms with

fortified foods. Dietary supplements would provide higher doses.

 

" Unfortified foods, fortified foods, and most dietary supplements, combined,

do not contribute to a total exposure anywhere near the recommended vitamin

D UL of 250 micrograms per day, " they said.

 

" We applied the same method to our risk assessment as the Food and Nutrition

Board had used years ago, and our results concluded vitamin D could be

safely taken in much higher amounts, " Hathcock told this website.

 

" We hope that the Food and Nutrition Board along with health professionals

and regulators will take our assessment and recommendation seriously, " he

said.

 

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

January 2007, Volume85, Pages 6-18

" Risk assessment for vitamin D "

Authors: J.N. Hathcock, A. Shao, R. Vieth, R. Heaney

 

 

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