“Vitamin D3: The Overall Picture”
The term “vitamin” is usually refers to vital substances the body cannot synthesize on its own. Given cholesterol and sunshine, the body can synthesize its own vitamin D. Thus, technically, it is not an essential dietary vitamin. When it comes to bone health, a meta-analysis showed that high doses of vitamin D lower the risk for fracture by 14% to 30% in people age 65 years or older and one study suggested that low levels of vitamin D increase the risk for forearm fracture in children. Randomized controlled trials (RTCs) suggested that vitamin D supplementation reduced acute respiratory tract infections in children during the cold Mongolian winter and showed that vitamin D reduced symptoms and antibiotic use in a group of patients with an increased frequency of respiratory infections (colds).
