Key Takeaways
- Vitamin D deficiency is common.
- Newly proposed guidelines suggest that it may not be necessary to test for vitamin D deficiency before taking supplements.
- Children, people over 75 years of age, pregnant women, and people with prediabetes may need to get more vitamin D than currently recommended.
- Other groups of people should not exceed the recommended daily amount of 600 IU unless they have underlying medical conditions that suggest otherwise.
More than 40% of American adults are vitamin D deficient. But how do you know if you actually need to take a supplement?
A panel of clinical experts agreed that guidance was still lacking. They worked together to develop the Endocrine Society’s clinical practice guideline, which they released earlier this month.
After evaluating randomized, placebo-controlled trials, researchers determined that some groups require more vitamin D than the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommendation of 600 IU or 15 mcg for people ages 1 to 70 years.
- In children and adolescents aged 1 to 18 years, it prevents nutritional rickets and reduces the risk of respiratory infections.
- Reduce the risk of death in people aged 75 and over
- Pregnant women to reduce the risk of preeclampsia, miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight
- High-risk prediabetic patients to prevent progression to diabetes
The researchers did not suggest ideal vitamin D intakes for any of these groups, only suggesting that these people need more vitamin D than is recommended in current dietary guidelines.
Low vitamin D levels are linked to many adverse health outcomes, including bone health, heart health, and immune health. Yet endocrinologists don’t recommend routine testing for vitamin D deficiency in the general public, concluding that the risks of over- and under-diagnosis are too great because it’s not clear what vitamin D levels should be in the first place.
The authors point out that these vitamin D recommendations are not intended to replace current dietary intake recommendations for the general population, and these guidelines do not apply to individuals with established indications for vitamin D treatment or testing, such as those with kidney disease.
How to Maintain Healthy Vitamin D Levels
Under the new guidelines, children, pregnant women, people over 75, and people at high risk for prediabetes should consider taking vitamin D supplements in amounts above the recommended dietary intake, ideally under the supervision of a health care professional. For everyone else without other medical conditions, supplementation is recommended to meet the currently recommended daily intake of 600 IU (for people over 70, the recommendation increases to 800 IU).
When choosing a vitamin D supplement, some data suggests that choosing vitamin D3 rather than vitamin D2 can help raise levels more quickly.
Edwina Clark, MD, a California-based nutritionist who was not involved in the study, agrees with the Endocrine Society’s findings that while the existing guidelines are helpful, vitamin D recommendations really should be tailored to the individual. She also emphasizes that the proposed new guidelines do not recommend taking megadoses of vitamin D.
“Taking too many vitamin D supplements can be toxic and even fatal,” Clark told Verywell. “Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, confusion, dehydration, thirst, kidney stones, and eventually calcification of tissues and organs.”
There are not many foods that provide vitamin D, but you can meet your needs by consuming the following foods:
- Rainbow trout
- Sockeye Salmon
- mushroom
- Fortified orange juice
- Dairy products
- Fortified plant-based milk beverages
- Fortified breakfast cereal
“Fortified breakfast cereals include: [up to] “It provides 20 percent of your daily vitamin D needs, making it an affordable and convenient option for families’ daily routines,” registered dietitian Elizabeth Shaw tells Verywell.
What this means for you
Newly proposed guidelines state that testing for vitamin D deficiency is not necessary. If you are in certain age groups, pregnant, or have prediabetes, talk to your doctor about starting vitamin D supplements.
