The Institute of Medicine is going to release a report stating that supplementation of Vitamin D and Calcium is not needed. The article in the NY Times summarizes this quite well. There has been a major push over the past decade to check patients' Vitamin D levels and to generally recommend supplements for everyone. Now...I guess not? A panel convened by the IOM examined the available data in almost 1,000 publications to determine how much vitamin D and calcium people were getting and how much was needed for optimal health. The big issue is that maybe the labs are reporting "low" levels of Vitamin D at a range that really isn't low. The panel does state that people are probably not getting enough Vitamin D from their diets but they are getting enough from the natural production through our bodies use of sunlight. I guarantee this whole subject is still going to be up for debate. With rickets on the rise, I truly wonder if more studies are needed. I am just not convinced enough people get sunlight nowadays. One of the panel members interviewed in the article is Cliff Rosen MD. I remember working under him as a resident. Being in Maine, that dude is as pasty white as I am. As I write this, it is dark outside this morning. When I come home from work it will be dark outside. How much sunlight is Cliff and I really getting?
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