The Role of Vitamin D in Bone Health

Vitamin D has gained a lot of popularity in the past few years. Is it as good as they really say it is?

Let's look at the research with respect to bone health.

Vitamin D facilitates calcium absorption, especially in people with very low intakes of calcium, and is necessary for the deposition of calcium into newly formed bone tissue.

Vitamin D receptors have been identified in most tissues and have been shown to have important regulatory roles in cell growth and inflammation.

A person’s vitamin D status is assessed by measurement of serum Vitamin D (on blood work), with insufficiency defined as a value less than 75 nmol/L in Canada.

Older persons and those with severe obesity, malabsorption, serious liver or kidney disease, and who take certain medicines that affect vitamin D metabolism are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency.

However, we also know that with the weather in Canada, Vitamin D supplementation in the winter is essential.

The daily recommended intake for Vitamin D is between 1000-2000IU per day. It is important that you test your levels BEFORE supplementing.

Your dose of Vitamin D is dependent on your lab work. If you are taking 1000IU daily but your Vitamin D level is 30 nmol/L, that is not going to be enough to increase your levels to sufficiency.

We know that Vitamin D supplementation is not going to TREAT osteoporosis, but it is a really important part of maintaining bone health. Women with osteoporosis do not need more vitamin D than other women, but supplements are recommended to ensure against deficiency and to minimize the risk of hypocalcemia associated with some osteoporosis medications.

It’s important to work with your healthcare provider to find your individualized dose.

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