What's Missing from The New Vitamin D and Calcium Recommendations

Dr. Mark Hyman makes recommendations about vitamin D and calcium intake based on the latest research.

One day, vitamin D seems like the cure for everything, and the next, we are inundated with warnings about dangers and lack of science. Confusion is rampant about the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI's) for Calcium and Vitamin D recently released from the Institute of Medicine.

I have reviewed the report carefully and gathered input from international experts on vitamin D and the clinical team at my medical center -- which includes four master's degrees in nutrition, authors of textbooks on nutrition, and international leaders in nutrition education for physicians and dietitians. Collectively we have 100 years of reviewing nutrition research and applying it with thousands of patients. Here is what I think about the new vitamin D recommendations based on a synthesis of all this information. Read more

Read more »

Posted in: calcium,nutrition,vitamin D

The Milk Myth: What a Body Really Needs

Does milk really do a body good? It has never been necessary to drink milk to get your source of calcium if you have a diet with a wide variety of foods.

Young adults are not drinking enough milk, according to a study published in the July/August issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior by researchers from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Well, at least that's according to the press release about the study, along with a few press reports on the matter. But according to lead author Nicole Larson, the focus on the study was on calcium.

Once again, we see the words "milk" and "calcium" used interchangeably in the popular press. Milk is a calcium source, but by no standard other than that of the National Dairy Council is it the best calcium source. Read more

Read more »

Posted in: calcium,milk,National Dairy Council,nutrition