A 95-year-old mainstream multi-disciplined medical society today endorsed natural vitamin D levels being promoted by the world’s largest vitamin D coalition, opposing dermatology statements and the recent Institute of Medicine vitamin D report.

The Endocrine Society – a 14,000-member medical group founded in 1916 that today represents clinicians, researchers, biologists, geneticists and educators in more than 100 countries worldwide – pointed out that IOM’s vitamin D recommendations should not be interpreted as clinical recommendations for doctors.

Their press statement endorsed GrassrootsHealth.org’s D*Action vitamin D recommendations that had been endorsed by 40 individual medical researchers worldwide. Several medical organizations themselves are now fully endorsing D*action’s statement or the spirit of its recommendations.

The press release issued today is below:

Endocrine Society Announces New Clinical Practice Guidelines for Vitamin D

Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 06, 2011 — The Endocrine Society released new clinical practice guidelines calling for vitamin D concentrations of 30-60 ng/ml (75-150 nmol/L), closely approaching the recommendation of 40- 60 ng/ml of the GrassrootsHealth’ consortium of vitamin D experts.

“Our objective is to provide guidelines to clinicians for the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency with an emphasis on the care of patients who are at risk for deficiency. The recent Institute of Medicine’s recommendation was not a medical model and was not intended to direct physicians on care of patients. It is up to professional associations to establish guidelines for care,” according to Michael Holick, Ph.D., MD from Boston University Medical Center. Dr. Holick presented the Endocrine Society’s new Clinical Practice Guidelines for Vitamin D at the 93rd annual meeting of the association in Boston, MA, June 4-7, 2011.

40-75% of the world’s population is vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency puts one at risk for osteomalacia, rickets, falls, tuberculosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, type-1 diabetes, high blood pressure, increased heart failure, myopathy, breast and other cancers. It is projected that the incidence of many of these diseases could be reduced by 20% to 50% or more, if the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were eradicated by increasing vitamin D intakes through increased UVB exposure, fortified foods or supplements.

It will take from 1000 to 2000 IU/day of vitamin D (cholecalciferol) to achieve the serum target of 30 ng/ml. A more detailed summary of the Endocrine Practice Guidelines for Intake for Patients at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency: for 0-1 years, 400-1000 IU/day, Upper Limit of 2000 IU/day; for 1-18 years, 600-1000 IU/day, Upper Limit of 4000 IU/day; for 19-70 years, 1500-2000 IU/day, Upper Limit of 10,000 IU/day; for 70+ years, 1500-2000 IU/day, Upper Limit of 10,000 IU/day.

The Society recommends that everyone at risk be screened for vitamin D deficiency. Those especially at risk are infants and children (all ages), pregnant women, those who are over 65 and in community dwellings (without enough sunlight), darker skinned individuals and obese individuals.

At the same time as the Endocrine Society, two additional medical associations, the Ontario Society of Physicians for Complementary Medicine and the Section of Complementary and Integrative Medicine of the Ontario Medical Association in Canada joined the GrassrootsHealth Scientists’ Call to D*action, calling for serum levels in the range of 40-60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L). According to Dr. Robert Banner, Chair of the Section, “We have to pay attention to the health of our patients. Our group will actively help patients get the testing and education they need for their health with vitamin D. It is vital to be proactive with people’s health to prevent diseases that my happen 10 or more years down the road.”

“Clinicians and their medical associations are creating clinical practice guidelines based on the documented science as well as their clinical experience and establishing recommended serum levels at least at 30-60 ng/ml (75-150 nmol/L) with recommended intakes from 1000-2000 IU/day based on age. It is recommended that everyone test their vitamin D serum level for a baseline measurement and adjust their intake to reach the desired serum level,” said Carole Baggerly, director of GrassrootsHealth.

GrassrootsHealth (GRH), a nonprofit public health research organization, is working to take the science on vitamin D from research to practice. More information on vitamin D and the Scientists’ Call to D*action can be found on www.GrassRootsHealth.org.