Half the Population in the World Doesn't Get Enough Vitamin D

Half the Population in the World Doesn't Get Enough Vitamin D: Anthony Norman, a professor emeritus of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at the University of California, says, "It is clear that merely eating vitamin D-rich foods is not adequate to solve the problem for most adults." Currently in the U. S. the recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 international units for people age 50 and older, 400 IU for those ages 51-70 and 600 IU for people age 70 and older. "There is a wide consensus that the relative daily intake of vitamin D should be increased to 2,000 to 4,000 IU for most adults.... Already, several studies have reported substantial reductions in incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer and Type 1 diabetes in association with adequate intake of vitamin D, the positive effect generally occurring within five years of initiation of adequate vitamin D intake." Norman says there is irrefutable evidence that receptors in the immune, pancreas, heart-cardiovascular, muscle and brain systems in the body generate biological responses to the steroid hormone form of vitamin D. Endocrine Today, July 2010