Your Questions About Vitamin D and Bone, Answered

The role of vitamin D in calcium absorption and bone mineralisation.

Key takeaways

• Daily recommendation: 10 micrograms (400 IU)
• When: October to March for everyone; year-round for at-risk groups
• Most useful single change: Take 10 micrograms daily through autumn and winter.
• Commonest mistake: High-dose products without medical advice.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

What is Vitamin D and Bone?

The role of vitamin D in calcium absorption and bone mineralisation.

Why does it matter?

Calcium intake achieves less than the number suggests if vitamin D status is inadequate, which is why the two are discussed together.

Daily recommendation for Vitamin D and Bone?

10 micrograms (400 IU).

Deficiency in adults for Vitamin D and Bone?

Osteomalacia, causing bone pain and muscle weakness.

Deficiency in children for Vitamin D and Bone?

Rickets.

Upper limit without supervision for Vitamin D and Bone?

100 micrograms a day.

What is the single most useful thing to do?

Take 10 micrograms daily through autumn and winter.

What is the most common mistake?

High-dose products without medical advice.

When should I see a doctor?

See a GP for bone pain, muscle weakness, or fractures from minor falls. Speak to your GP before supplementing if you have sarcoidosis, kidney disease, a parathyroid disorder, or a history of high blood calcium or kidney stones.

Where to go next

• The Vitamin D and Bone Checklist: What to Do and What to Skip
• Popular Beliefs About Vitamin D and Bone, and What Is Actually Published
• Vitamin D and Bone — the reference entry
• Sports Injuries: What Published Guidance Supports
• What the Guidance Really Says About Osteoarthritis

When to speak to a doctor

See a GP for bone pain, muscle weakness, or fractures from minor falls. Speak to your GP before supplementing if you have sarcoidosis, kidney disease, a parathyroid disorder, or a history of high blood calcium or kidney stones.

Where this comes from

• Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition — Vitamin D and Health
• Royal Osteoporosis Society — vitamin D

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.