Published Articles: Newsweek - January 16, 2006

The Gurus' Guide To Daily Nutrition

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Irwin Rosenberg NUTRITION SCIENTIST, TUFTS
He takes: Vitamin B12 (200mcg weekly), vitamin D (400 IU daily)
Tip: If you don't live in a sunny climate, vitamin D could be low.

Courtesy of Tufts University

I'm not opposed to multivitamins, but I'm not a big fan. Why would you take a big list of vitamins? The beauty of taking supplements is that, if they're used effectively, you take those things you need in the right amount. Not everyone needs the same supplements. The only ones I take are related to my own susceptibilities. I take an acid-suppressing drug for a reflux condition. Acid is required for the digestion and bioavailability of vitamin B12 in foods, so I take a B12 supplement. Much of the B12 insufficiency that occurs with aging has to do with the loss of gastric acid. By the time you get up to age 80, 50 percent of the population isn't making enough stomach acid, and that's relevant to the increasing prevalence of B12 deficiencies.

I take vitamin D supplements because up here there's a shorter part of the year in which you can provide for your vitamin D through sunlight. We've done studies and found that between the end of October and end of March, there's virtually no vitamin D synthesis in the skin in Boston. I tend to take vitamin D through the winter, but I may do it all year round. It appears to be not only important in preventing osteoporosis but maybe cancer. And vitamin D absorption grows more limited as we get older. I do have concerns about getting too much, though. At high levels, vitamin D has been shown to have negative effects. [The maximum recommended daily dose is 2,000 IU for those 1 year and older; 1,000 IU for 0-12 months.]

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