In 2010, an independent panel from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academy of Sciences, released a long-awaited report calling for a big boost in the RDA for women. Many health-care practitioners follow the institute's recommendations, although they're not required to do so.
The IOM's new RDA, which calls for 600 IU daily for people age 1-70 and 800 IU over 70, is a big boost from the previous RDA of 200 IU. (An IU, or "International Unit," equals .025 micrograms.)
Their recommendations were largely based on bone health, says IOM committee member and Harvard Medical School professor JoAnn Manson, M.D.
"The data was consistent in supporting that 600 IU would cover the needs of 95% of the population up to age 50," she says.
But to Michael Holick, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of medicine and vitamin D researcher at Boston University, the panel's guidelines are still 2-3 times too low. He recommends as much as 3,000 IU per day for most of his patients, he says.
The IOM recommendations are intended to prevent vitamin D deficiency, which it defines as less than 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood. (You can get a blood test at your doctor's office to find out your current levels.)
It's more important to prevent "insufficiency" – a higher standard often defined as less than 32 ng/mL, Dr. Holick says.
The IOM might raise its recommendations again when more research is done, Dr. Manson says.
"When many ongoing trials [with daily doses as high as 2,000 IU] are completed, there will be much better information," she predicts.
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