Vitamin D for Longer Life

Taking vitamin D supplements could help you live longer. That’s the latest word from a French analysis of 18 studies looking at the effects of taking vitamin D. More than 57,000 individuals took part in the 18 trials. All told, the investigators found a seven percent reduction in all causes of death among the study participants who had taken vitamin D over an average follow-up period of 5.7 years. The doses taken varied widely, from 300 to 2,000 IU daily, but averaged 528 IU. The researchers said that they don’t know why people who took vitamin D in these studies had a lower risk of death than those who didn’t supplement, but vitamin D deficiencies are associated with illness such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and improving vitamin D status may have reduced the risk of developing those life-threatening diseases. The study was published in the September 10, 2007 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine


...from Dr. Weil website