Recently, a friend of mine emailed me about his decision to limit his vitamin D3 intake. He had read in a newspaper or seen a report on a TV news program that vitamin D3 supplements in excess of 400 IU/day had an association of earlier death. I had read the same information in the news summary magazine “THE WEEK”. This is another example of poor research making inaccurate conclusions and then being picked up by news organizations. The news writers for major outlets, CBS, NBC, NY Times, TIME magazine, etc. are not expert on most scientific/medical issues and therefore report what the scientists or doctors tell them. (This is not “fake news” nor are these fake news organizations, they simply made a mistake by not doing enough background research.)
If they had searched the data base of PUBMED.GOV or LEF.ORG or any research cache about vitamin D3, they would have known that this report was an aberration to the great volume of prior, current, and continuing research findings. Such research demonstrates that D3, is in fact not a vitamin but a pro-hormone made by your body in response to direct noon time sunlight/UVB radiation. It can be taken as a supplement form and should be, as in Western civilized countries, very few people are outside in minimal clothing during the hours of 10 AM to 2 PM when the UVB rays can penetrate the atmosphere and produce D3 in the body.
Higher levels of D3 in blood, 40 ng/mL (100 mmol/L by the other way of measurement) up to 80 ng/mL are associated with lesser incidence of heart disease, 17 different cancers including breast, prostate, lung, colo-rectal, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as well as musculoskeletal injuries.
Please do not take my word for these statements—look at PUBMED.GOV, LEF.ORG, GRASSROOTSHEALTH.ORG, VITAMINDCOUNCIL.ORG for original research references.