Getting the right amount of vitamin D may be just as vital for the physical health of seniors as it is for children with growing bones, according to a new study that examined connections between the sunshine vitamin and physical functioning.

Researchers studied the health of nearly 2,800 seniors (with a median age of 75) for four years, first by analyzing blood samples for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (this determines if bone weakness or the metabolism of calcium is occurring due to having too little or too much vitamin D). Additionally, scientists measured how 25-hydroxyvitamin D was connected to physical functioning in an array of tests, among them measuring a patient's ability to walk 6 meters, stand up from a sitting position five times and maintain their balance.

No surprise, patients whose bodies had the most 25-hydroxyvitamin D functioned the best. What's more, even as physical functioning declined as the study continued, the most physically vital of patients were those who had the highest levels of vitamin D at the beginning.

Two caveats worth considering. For one, vitamin D consumption was very low among this generally healthy group of seniors (more than 90 percent consumed less than daily recommended amount of vitamin D). Interestingly, a majority of patients took a dietary supplement.

EurekAlert April 25, 2010

NutraIngredients-USA.com April 26, 2010