University of Auckland researchers claim that healthy people may not benefit as much from Vitamin D as it doesn't have a significant effect on preventing heart attacks, stroke, cancer or bone fractures in such people.
Of late, the effects and benefits of vitamin D have grabbed the attention of many researchers and numerous studies have been conducted to provide an answer to the debatable question of how effective this vitamin actually is. A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand claims that the vitamin D miracle may not work for healthy people as it has no significant effect on preventing heart attacks, stroke, cancer or bone fractures, according to BBC News.
"The impression that vitamin D is a sunshine vitamin and that increasing doses lead to improved health is far from clear," the tabloid quoted Karl Michaelsson from the department of surgical sciences at Uppsala University in Sweden, as saying.
The researchers examined more than 40 existing randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplements, with or without calcium and found none of them suggested any significant effect on bone mineral density.
"In view of our findings, there is little justification for prescribing vitamin D supplements to prevent myocardial infarction or ischaemic heart disease, stroke or cerebrovascular disease, cancer, or fractures, or to reduce the risk of death in unselected community-dwelling individuals," the researchers wrote.
The researchers, however, confirm that babies, pregnant women and elderly people should not discontinue taking their vitamin D supplements based on the findings of this study. However, they also caution otherwise healthy people to choose a vigilant approach to vitamin D supplementation until further information about the benefits of this nutrient is available.
The study was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology and funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
Vitamin D is a key component for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. It is naturally produced in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. It can also be attainted from food like oily fish, egg yolks and cheese.
This is not the first study that has questioned the effectiveness of vitamin D. In March last year, a group of British scientists found that vitamin D supplements taken in pregnancy made no difference to the child's bone health.
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine - a prestigious group of scientists that helps guide health policy in Canada and the U.S. - published a comprehensive report on the current evidence around vitamin D. It concluded that the evidence "does not support" the idea that it can prevent cancer, reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes or other health problems.
In another report, the U.S. National Cancer Institute noted that its studies conducted on the effects of vitamin D on cancer may not be completely accurate because studying a person's blood vitamin level at a single point in time, as many studies do, may not give an accurate picture of his or her true levels. Moreover, many studies don't use high enough doses to see the benefits.
