Vitamin D recommendations may be too low

New research shows that children may benefit from ten times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D.

As reported in the July Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, investigators conducted short- and long-term trials to determine the safety of relatively high doses of vitamin D3 in children ages 10 to 17.

Only children who received the equivalent of 2,000 IUs of vitamin D per day had levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin (25-OHD) increased from the mid-teens to the mid-thirties. The current recommended daily allowance of vitamin D is 200 IUs.

The investigators believe that children and adolescents are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D due to rapid skeletal growth, and therefore less likely to reach toxic levels of the vitamin. The 2,000 IUs a day supplementation of vitamin D3 was safe and well-tolerated in their study, the researchers stated.