The NHS recommends Brits take vitamin D supplements in autumn and winter for bone health because the body cannot generate enough from sunshine
Vitamin D pills do nothing to prevent falls and fractures in older people according to a scientific review.
The NHS recommends that people living in the UK take vitamin D supplements in autumn and winter to maintain bone health because the body cannot generate enough from sunshine.
However the review of 69 clinical trials involving 153,902 people published in the British Medical Journal showed “little to no effect” on the risk of any fracture from vitamin D or calcium supplements. Researchers concluded their findings “do not support” routine vitamin D supplements “to prevent fractures and falls”.
It comes after some experts had doubted the effectiveness of how the body processes vitamin pills when compared with getting the nutrients from food. Some people take them at a dose that is too small but there is also a risk from dosages that are too high.
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The research team from Quebec, Canada, concluded: “About 30% of people aged 65 years and older, and more than half of those living in nursing homes, experience falls at least annually, 5% of which result in fractures.
“Admission to hospital because of fractures leads to functional decline for many… calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation was thought to provide a relatively effortless and inexpensive solution to a complex problem.”
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, all of which keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.
The review looked at the impact of vitamin D, calcium or combined supplementation which appeared to have “little to no effect” on specific fractures, such as hip fractures, or falls generally.
The paper acknowledged that the results may not apply to people with specific bone disorders or people with osteoporosis.
Experts said exercise such as resistance training has been shown to boost muscle and bone health while “hazard assessment” of homes could also prevent falls.
Researcher Olivier Massé, pharmacy expert at the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, in Canada, said: said: “The findings show that calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation does not prevent fractures or falls. Efforts and funding should be redirected from supplementation to ensuring access to proven interventions.”
Researchers warned that the sort of people likely to take vitamin supplements may also be more likely to have a healthier life generally including a better diet. This “reverse causation” may be behind why previous observational studies suggested vitamin D pills prevent falls and fractures.
Good sources of vitamin D
The body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors but the NHS says between October and early March we do not make enough from sunlight.
However vitamin D can also be gained from a small number of foods which include:
- oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, trout, herring or mackerel
- red meat
- egg yolks
- fortified foods – such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals
- liver
Good sources of calcium
The NHS recommends getting calcium daily through a balanced diet, ideally from dairy, leafy greens, and fortified foods. Adults aged 19 to 64 and over need 700mg of calcium per day.
If you require supplements, GPs frequently prescribe combined Calcium and Vitamin D tablets to support bone health and prevent osteoporosis.
