01.03.11
Most Americans and Canadians up to age 70 need no more than 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day to maintain health, and those 71 and older may need as much as 800 IUs, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
The amount of calcium needed ranges, based on age, from 700 to 1300 mg per day, according to the report, which updates the nutritional reference values known as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for these interrelated nutrients.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C., called IOM’s newly-released report on the DRI levels for vitamin D “a modest step in the right direction that fell short of truly capturing the extensive and positive research that has consistently supported the need for people to significantly raise their vitamin D levels.”
“While an increase in the recommendations for vitamin D will benefit the public overall, such a conservative increase for the nutrient lags behind the mountain of research demonstrating a need for vitamin D intake at levels possibly as high as 2000 IU/day for adults,” said Andrew Shao, PhD, senior vice president, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, CRN. “However, CRN recognizes the challenges associated with the DRI process, and the difficulty in making broad-based recommendations for an entire population. That is why it is so important for consumers to talk with their doctors or other healthcare professionals, to get their vitamin D levels tested, and determine personalized recommendations that would enable them to increase blood levels of vitamin D as appropriate.”
CRN noted that the recommendations for calcium changed slightly, with minor adjustments to recommendations for infants, children and the elderly. Commenting on this development, Dr. Shao noted, “based on the current body of science surrounding calcium, this is what we would have expected.”
The amount of calcium needed ranges, based on age, from 700 to 1300 mg per day, according to the report, which updates the nutritional reference values known as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for these interrelated nutrients.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C., called IOM’s newly-released report on the DRI levels for vitamin D “a modest step in the right direction that fell short of truly capturing the extensive and positive research that has consistently supported the need for people to significantly raise their vitamin D levels.”
“While an increase in the recommendations for vitamin D will benefit the public overall, such a conservative increase for the nutrient lags behind the mountain of research demonstrating a need for vitamin D intake at levels possibly as high as 2000 IU/day for adults,” said Andrew Shao, PhD, senior vice president, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, CRN. “However, CRN recognizes the challenges associated with the DRI process, and the difficulty in making broad-based recommendations for an entire population. That is why it is so important for consumers to talk with their doctors or other healthcare professionals, to get their vitamin D levels tested, and determine personalized recommendations that would enable them to increase blood levels of vitamin D as appropriate.”
CRN noted that the recommendations for calcium changed slightly, with minor adjustments to recommendations for infants, children and the elderly. Commenting on this development, Dr. Shao noted, “based on the current body of science surrounding calcium, this is what we would have expected.”