Popping pills is as American as apple pie – as we are now a society clearly on the “I want this fixed now” mentality when it comes to our health. Whether it is a problem in the bedroom, our waistline, high cholesterol, whatever, a pill seems to hold all the magic.
What if living longer really were as simple as popping a pill? Researcher Christian Gluud, MD, a department head at the Centre for Clinical Intervention Research at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, reports that although researchers still aren’t sure why, in a group of nearly 75,000 elderly women evaluated in 32 randomized clinical trials, those who took supplements of vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol) were 6% less likely to die over a two-year period than their peers who weren’t taking the vitamin.
That is a clear result from just taking a supplement!
It is well known that having enough vitamin D confers great health benefits, it has been associated with the prevention of certain cancers as well as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders and infections, and it seems to cut elderly adults’ risk for falls and fractures. Even so, proof that taking vitamin D lengthens life was lacking — until now. In the present review of previous randomized trials, vitamin D-3 doses of up to 800 IU/day were shown to have just this benefit.
From the sound of it, we’d all be justified to go immediately to the store for D-3 supplements, right? A scientific advisory panel to the US government, called the Institute of Medicine (IOM), recommended in 2010 that most people get 600 IU of vitamin D daily and that those older than 70 get 800 IU. Many physicians recommend even more. While it’s difficult to reach these amounts consistently without supplementation, some good food sources of vitamin D include fatty fish, such as tuna and salmon, and fortified dairy products and cereals. Dr. Gluud recommends that anyone adding a new supplement or increasing a dose speak with a physician first and points out that taking vitamin D-3 plus calcium can result in kidney stones for an unlucky few.
Take it from me who has suffered through dozens of kidney stones – you don’t want them.
Along with a supplement, get outside and expose as much of your skin as you can for 10-15 minutes a day. Your body can naturally produce Vitamin D from sunlight and it has other benefits too, such as decreased rates of depression.
I highly recommend increasing your intake of Vitamin D along with your progress in the Medifast Diet Plan.
Source(s):
Christian Gluud, MD, researcher, department head, Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.
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