You can get it from a glass of milk or by spending a little time in the sun. But a new study finds as many as 75% of Americans are not getting enough vitamin D. Laura Jeffers did not take part in the study but is a registered dietician at Cleveland Clinic. According to Jeffers, "Having a deficiency in vitamin D can lead to rickets in children, bone density loss in adults, but also Vitamin D has also been shown to reduce the causes of cancer, heart disease and overall health."
University of Colorado researchers analyzed information from nearly 19-thousand people surveyed between 1988 and 1994, then compared it to a similar survey done on more than 13- thousand people between 2001 and 2004. Results show nearly three out of four Americans have an insufficient level of vitamin D.
Advertisement
Researchers say findings could lead to an increase in the current recommended dosage of Vitamin D. But Jeffers says there are plenty of ways for you to get the recommended amount.
"In order to get vitamin D you can certainly get that sunlight. But because, maybe, you're not able to spend enough time outside you may not be getting that Vitamin D from the sun, so you want to make sure you are eating foods that have it in there, so dairy. Most milk obviously dairy has some Vitamin D in it, cheese, other foods are fortified with Vitamin D, so you'll have your ready to eat cereals and yogurts and even some sort of juices."
Complete findings of this study are in the "Journal of American Medicine's Archives of Internal Medicine.
Advertisement
