Doctors have been telling us how we should up our intake of vitamin D for a while now, since low levels are associated with heart disease and some cancers.
Now researchers from across the pond are giving us even more reason: middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes by 43 percent.
Forty-three percent.
That's huge.
To arrive at that number, researchers at the Warwick Medical School looked back at 28 studies (half from the United States) involving almost 100,000 people. Their work is published in the journal, Maturitas, an international journal of midlife health and beyond.
Here's why vitamin D is good for you.
How much do you need?
The Vitamin D Council says supplemental vitamin D is necessary unless you use suntan parlors once a week or live in Florida and sunbathe once a week, year-round. It recommends:
* healthy children under the age of 2 years take 1,000 IU per day;
* healthy children over the age of 2 take 2,000 IU per day; and
* healthy adults and adolescents take 5,000 IU per day.
Natural bone health expert, Susan Brown says our bodies use 3,000 to 5,000 units of vitamin D per day. They will store excess vitamin D for up to six months, but without replenishment, we'll run out.
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