Dov Michaeli
First posted 7/13/11 on The Doctor Weighs In
When I studied and practiced medicine vitamin D was not an issue, or maybe a settled issue: the vitamin enhances calcium absorption and is important for the maintenance of bone health. So I was startled when I recently came across this statistic: Sales of vitamin D in the U.S. were $40 million in 2001, $50 million in 2005, and in 2008 it spiked to $425 million. That’s an astounding 8.5 fold increase in 3 years! What happened? Was there a scientific breakthrough demonstrating hitherto undiscovered preventative or healing powers? Is there an outbreak of a worldwide epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, as some advocates claim? Let’s look at the facts.