A group of experts has prepared a report on vitamin D supplementation for menopausal women after it was revealed that Europeans have suffered an alarming decrease in their levels of this vitamin. In their opinion, the ideal would be to maintain blood levels above 30 ng/ml. Vitamin D is essential to the immune system and processes such as calcium absorption.[1]
The team of experts analysed the conditions and diseases that are associated with vitamin D deficiency and recommended the intake of supplements in postmenopausal women. As well as stimulating calcium and phosphorus absorption, the vitamin D system has numerous functions. Low vitamin D levels are linked to rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis and the risk of bone fracture, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, infections and degenerative diseases.
“In healthy postmenopausal women, we have seen that a good level of vitamin D is linked to good physical fitness and has an effect on body fat mass as well as muscle strength and balance,” state the authors of the article published in the Maturitas journal.
The researcher explains that patients with risk factors associated with hypovitaminosis (obesity, pigmented skin, intestinal malabsorption syndromes and living in regions close to the North and South poles) should increase their intake to up to 4,000 IU per day. There is scientific evidence that a daily dose of 4,000 IU/day is not poisonous in healthy people.
Reference
[1] Faustino R. Pérez-López, Marc Brincat, C. Tamer Erel, Florence Tremollieres, Marco Gambacciani, Irene Lambrinoudaki, Mette H. Moen, Karin Schenck-Gustafsson, Svetlana Vujovic, Serge Rozenberg, Margaret Rees. “Vitamin D and postmenopausal health”. Maturitas, 71, 83-88, Jan 2012. View Full Paper
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I really wasn’t aware of this idea about vitamin D being used to fight infections but on another blog I checked I found that it’s actually good for gut health and obviously the immune system, it’s great to see people promoting it and menopause can be a difficult time in many women’s lives so it’s important they get all the help they need to keep their bodies disease free, great post michael.