Researchers Taking High D Doses

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Scientists studying vitamin D may not have yet convinced Health Canada to

increase recommendations, but some of them are so won over, they take 6,000 IU a

day. An article in the Globe and Mail by Mittelstaedt talked with some of

these scientists who feel vitamin D can help them avoid everything from cancer

to osteoporosis and diabetes.

Bruce Hollis, a pediatrics professor at the Medical University of South Carolina

in ton, said he took 4,000 IU daily for years, but recently increased to

6,000 IU, noting that he didn't know anyone who is studying the sunshine vitamin

and not taking it. According to the article, Hollis and his research team have

found pregnant women who take up to 4,000 IU a day have lower rates of preterm

births and lower rates of infection, and the vitamin appears to be safe.

Another expert, Heaney, a professor at Creighton University's school of

medicine in Omaha, has taken 3,000 IU a day since he started his research on

vitamin D's role in preventing osteoporosis. He agreed that every vitamin D

researcher he knows takes at least 1,000 IU a day, and puts the average at 5,000

IU.

White, a Crohn's disease researcher at the department of physiology at

McGill University, takes 2,000 IU a day in the summer, but ups that to 4,000 in

the winter.

Cedric Garland, an epidemiologist and researcher at the s Cancer Center at

the University of California, San Diego, found no toxicity below 10,000 IU after

reviewing scientific literature; he takes 2,000 IU a day, but recommends women

take 6,000.

The article noted Health Canada says 6,000 IU is way too much, which recommends

200 IU to 600 IU a day, depending on age, and puts 2,000 IU as an upper limit.

However, Health Canada is reviewing the vitamin, and expects to release its

findings in the fall.

The Canadian Cancer Society and Osteoporosis Canada have issued advisories

saying the current recommendation is too low, but stop at saying the amounts

researchers are taking is healthy.

On the other side of the fence, the articled said Bouillon, an authority

on bone metabolism and professor of medicine at the Catholic University of

Leuven in Belgium, feels science hasn't proven that these high levels are

helpful, or even safe. He said 800 IU is a safe upper limit.

The article noted most research on vitamin D beyond bone health (such as

reductions in cancer, autoimmune diseases and heart conditions) is based on

epidemiological studies or surveys. Bouillon cautioned these studies are

speculative because they aren't backed by experiments using actual doses. These

more scientific studies are underway, but results will take years.

Sources:

Globe and Mail: Scientists taking vitamin D in droves

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/scientists-taking-vitamin-d-in-droves\

/article1649132/