Consumption of vitamin D can reduce the speed of weakness and age in adults, but excessive intake can harm it.
Special things
- Vitamin D deficiency leads to weakness
- There is a lot of uncertainty about the needs for Vitamin D
- Very few studies have been done on humans
New Delhi: Everyday intake of vitamin D plays an important role in keeping the body healthy. But excessive intake can harm it. So far, research has revealed that one dose of vitamin D can reduce the speed of aging and weakness in adults, but excessive intake also leads to weakness. However, this research has been done on mice and remains to be done on humans.
Signs of weakness
Unexpected weight loss, loss of strength, fatigue, physical activity, and slow movement. These five are symptoms of weakness. Presently, doctors find at least three of these symptoms in a person and consider them weak.
Weakness increases with age.
The weakness comes from vitamin D deficiency. Research suggests that people who have low levels of vitamin D in their blood are more likely to be weak. This is of particular concern, as vitamin D levels may be insufficient in 1 billion people globally.
Vitamin D deficiency in mice results in decreased strength
The latest research on mice has been found in the journal Nutrients, which found that vitamin D deficiency in old age increases weakness. Study author Kenneth L. Selden said, “We found strength and physical activity decreased due to lack of vitamin D in older mice.”
Research is done by giving different amounts
Scientists conducted research on mice aged 24–28 months, which are equivalent to humans aged 65–80 years. At the beginning of the study, mice were divided into three groups and given varying amounts of vitamin D. After 4 months of research, it was found that mice who were given vitamin D less or less than they needed, there was some weakness from the beginning of the research. On the other hand, in the mice who were consumed high amounts of vitamin D, the weakness was seen much more.
How much vitamin D is needed
There is a lot of uncertainty about a person’s vitamin D needs. The National Academy of Medicine recommends 600 international units (IU) for adults aged 19–70 years and 800 IU daily for individuals over 70 years of age.
Lack of research on humans
Very little research has been done on humans till now. The researchers say that to validate the results in humans, the clinical investigation will need to be done for at least 5 years. However, they say that it may not be safe to continuously test high or low levels of vitamin D over such a long period.
