Vitamin D makers are not going to like the latest research news: It seems taking vitamin D supplements doesn't do much to protect the human body against the risk of a fall.
A new report states trial study results indicate conflicting results and that more research is needed for assessing the effects of vitamin D and how it can stem the risk of a fall.
The news comes as the American population is an aging demographic and consumers are getting increasingly attentive to health and fitness issues and concerns.
"At present, there is little justification for prescribing vitamin D supplements to prevent falls," states the report, written by Dr. Mark Bolland of the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The Health Research Council of New Zealand funded the study which was published in the April issue of The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.
The research analyzed nearly two dozen studies involving 30,000 people.
"Whether a large trial is feasible in this vulnerable population remains to be established. Until then, we are left with uncertainty about the benefits of vitamin D supplementation for reduction in fall risk, particularly among vulnerable older people," Clifford Rosen, of the Maine Medical Research Institute, and Christine Taylor, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, wrote in an accompanying commentary.
