Vit D meta-analyses war
April 8, 2014
TWO recent meta-analyses
evaluating the role of vit D in
health outcomes have generated
conflicting results.
Dr Raymond Mullins, a consultant
physician in the field of clinical
immunology and allergy at Allergy
Capital, said medical literature
was “littered with the corpses of
theories and treatments which,
when subjected to closer study,
have proven to be ineffective.”
While arguing the understanding
that associations linked to a
product do not prove causation,
Mullins agreed that bone health,
birth weight and reduced risk of
death have been justifiably linked
to vitamin D ingestion.
Blackmores Institute director
Dr Lesley Braun said that a fair
minded approach would agree that
a balanced diet was the best way
to get vitamins, however, achieving
a truly balanced intake from diet
could be easier said than done.
Dr Tim Gill, principal research
fellow at The Boden Institute at
the University of Sydney, said the
Australian diet now was based on
processed foods, those that had
calories added to them, and where
food was relatively cheap and bad
food even cheaper.
MEANWHILE, a recent
randomised placebo-controlled
longitudinal study of more than
36,000 postmenopausal women
aged 50 to 79 years, titled ‘Calcium
plus vitamin D supplementation
and health outcomes five years
after active intervention ended’
and published in the Journal of
Women’s Health, demonstrated
statistically significant reductions in
the risk for hip fracture.
ASMI scientific and regulatory
affairs director Steve Scarff said
the body of scientific research
demonstrating beneficial results
for vitamin D had grown in recent
years, reducing death due to
cardiovascular disease, cancer
and other causes while another
study demonstrated that vitamin
D 3 significantly reduced overall
mortality among older adults.
He agreed it could be difficult
to get vitamin D through diet and
there were risks associated with
sun exposure, so supplements
offered a useful alternative.
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