Healthy hips require plenty of vitamin D

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: vitamin D, hips, health news

(NaturalNews) Healthy bones cannot be maintained without adequate levels of vitamin D. And a recent study out of New Delhi, India, confirms what previous studies have already found concerning vitamin D's critical role in bone health. According to recent data, more than 75 percent of people who experience hip fractures are vitamin D deficient, while fracture rates among those with adequate levels is far lower.

Presented at the second annual 1st Asia-Pacific Regional Osteoporosis Meeting held in Singapore, the findings revealed that , based on a sampling of 90 hip fracture patients, most had vitamin D levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), which is recognized as being far too low. Only about 32 percent of patients in a control group, on the other hand, had low vitamin D levels.

Previous research out of Scotland found that 98 percent of bone fracture patients had insufficient vitamin D levels. It also found that supplementing with vitamin D helped reduce overall occurrences of fractures by up to 50 percent (https://www.naturalnews.com/028965_vitamin_D_...).

According to the Vitamin D Council, a group of concerned citizens and scientists working to educate the public about the importance of vitamin D, healthy blood levels of vitamin D typically fall between 50 - 80 ng/mL. In order to maintain healthy levels, the group recommends that people expose themselves regularly to natural sunlight or take vitamin D3 supplements, especially during the winter when sun exposure is limited.

It is also important to get adequate amounts of the nutrient co-factors needed for the body to properly utilize vitamin D. These co-factors include magnesium, zinc, vitamin K2, boron and vitamin A (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/mo...). Vitamin D also helps increase calcium absorption, which is a primary reason why it improves the integrity of bones.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.iofbonehealth.org/newsroom/media-...