Vitamin D supplementation warning
A meta-analysis finding that vitamin D supplements have no beneficial effect on bone density has drawn intense criticism from experts who say the study has “serious limitations” and its conclusions could have “dire consequences” for public health for suggesting healthy adults don’t need to take vitamin D supplements.
According to a statement from United States’ peak body the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Duffy MacKay, N.D. “one of the serious limitations of this meta-analysis was the lack of consideration of studies that looked at how vitamin D and calcium work together.
“For populations that are most vulnerable to vitamin D deficiencies and insufficiencies – especially older adults – getting vitamin D from food alone is particularly challenging, and so supplementation may be warranted”.
A number of global public health and nutrition experts have also warned that the study, which was published this week in the Lancet, is being misinterpreted by mainstream, non-expert media outlets, who have reported the findings outside of their wider scientific context.