Vitamin D’s Identity Crisis: Why Experts Are Saying ‘No’ to Routine Testing

Are you getting enough vitamin D, or perhaps too much? New guidelines turn conventional wisdom on its head, offering new recommendations that could impact your decision about vitamin D intake and testing.
Known as the “sunshine vitamin,” vitamin D has become increasingly popular for its potential role in disease prevention. More than 18 percent of adults report taking vitamin D supplements, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Osborne, “There’s a tremendous amount of evidence, both in the literature but also clinically speaking. A lot of clinical evidence is never published so it doesn’t get used when they’re doing review studies or review papers like this one that was done by The Endocrine Society.”
The Endocrine Society told The Epoch Times that based on the current research, “Most healthy adults under the age of 75 may not benefit from taking more vitamin D than the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D recommended by the Institute of Medicine.”
The recommendation also recognizes the challenge in achieving adequate vitamin D status through sunlight exposure and diet alone, particularly in certain geographic regions or among populations with limited sun exposure.
“While vitamin D supplementation appears to be safe, inexpensive, and readily available, the trials identified in the systematic review did not clearly show a substantive benefit of vitamin D supplementation,” according the guidelines. “For this reason, the panel issued a conditional recommendation against routine vitamin D supplementation above what would be required to meet dietary reference guidelines.”
This recommendation is based on the potential of vitamin D to lower mortality risk, as well as the increased risk of vitamin D deficiency in older adults due to reduced skin synthesis, decreased dietary intake, and increased prevalence of comorbidities that may affect vitamin D metabolism.
This recommendation recognizes the critical role of vitamin D in maternal and fetal health, particularly in supporting calcium homeostasis and immune function.
Osborne said, “When it comes to nutrition, essential vitamins and minerals should be screened in every individual as a standard of care for prevention. We’re talking about prevention of major diseases, including things like diabetes, autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and arthritis. So, I think that testing and not guessing is a clinician’s obligation to their patient so that they can deliver accurate advice.”