Evidence does not back vitamin D supplements, says BMJ

There is not enough evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements, according to an article published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Earlier this year Public Health England (PHE) warned that people were not getting enough vitamin D from sunlight during the winter, and advised people to ensure they were getting 10 micrograms of it per day and to consider taking supplements during the autumn and winter.

But a new article published in The British Medical Journal (The BMJ) concludes that: "Current evidence does not support the use of vitamin D supplementation to prevent disease".

Vitamin D is vital for bone and muscle health, and a deficiency of it can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and osteomalacia. 

The biggest source of vitamin D for most people is sunlight, but it can also be found in foods such as oily fish, red meat, liver, eggs yolks, and in fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and fat spreads.

In The BMJ article, three experts from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Auckland, New Zealand, argued that people at risk of a vitamin D deficiency should be offered advice on sunlight exposure and diet and offered low dose supplements.

They continued that those who are not at risk of a deficiency should eat a healthy and balanced diet and get regular short bursts of sunlight.

The authors added that research showed that vitamin D supplementation alone does not improve musculoskeletal outcomes - such as bone fractures.

However, in a supplementary article, Dr Louis Levy, head of nutrition science at PHE, wrote that while during the summer months people are likely to get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone, during winter advice to take a vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms a day is backed by a Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) review of the evidence on musculoskeletal health outcomes.

SOURCE: ITV