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Vitamin D may not protect against COVID-19, as previously suggested

While previous research early in the pandemic suggested that vitamin D cuts the risk of contracting COVID-19, a new study from McGill University finds there is no genetic evidence that the vitamin works as a protective measure against the coronavirus.

"Vitamin D supplementation as a public health measure to improve outcomes is not supported by this study. Most importantly, our results suggest that investment in other therapeutic or preventative avenues should be prioritized for COVID-19 randomized clinical trials," say the authors.

Classified as: covid-19, vitamin D, risk, protect, coronavirus, Guillaume Butler-Laporte, Brent Richards
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Published on: 4 Jun 2021

Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D

 

Supplement given during first year of life critical for muscle-mass development

A healthy intake of vitamin D in the first year of life appears to set children up to have more muscle mass and less body fat as toddlers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

The findings emerged from research initially aimed at confirming the importance of vitamin D for bone density. The additional benefit in terms of body composition came as a surprise for the research team.

Classified as: McGill University, obesity, vitamin D, Fat, bone density, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Hope Weiler, toddlers, muscle mass, body composition, Mary Emily Clinical Nutrition Research Unit
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Published on: 2 May 2016

Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D

By Fergus Grieve, McGill Newsroom

Supplement given during first year of life critical for muscle-mass development

A healthy intake of vitamin D in the first year of life appears to set children up to have more muscle mass and less body fat as toddlers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

Classified as: McGill University, vitamin D, Fat, bone density, health and lifestyle, Hope Weiler, toddlers, pediatric obesity, muscle mass, body composition
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Published on: 2 May 2016

Association between low vitamin D and MS

Low levels of vitamin D significantly increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by Dr. Brent Richards of the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, and published in PLOS Medicine. This finding, the result of a sophisticated Mendelian randomization analysis, confirms a long-standing hypothesis that low vitamin D is strongly associated with an increased susceptibility to MS. This connection is independent of other factors associated with low vitamin D levels, such as obesity.

Classified as: McGill University, vitamin D, jewish general hospital, Multiple Sclerosis, MS, Brett Richards
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Published on: 25 Aug 2015

Calcium supplements linked to longer lifespans in women

Taking a calcium supplement of up to 1,000 mg per day can help women live longer, according to a study whose lead author was Lisa Langsetmo, a Ph.D. Research Associate at McGill University, and whose senior author was Prof. David Goltzman, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine and researcher in the Musculoskeletal Disorders axis at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).Their findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Classified as: metabolism, vitamin D, calcium, endocrinology, goltzman, osteoporosis
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Published on: 22 May 2013

The right amount of vitamin D for babies


Vitamin D is crucial to the growth of healthy bones. It is especially important that babies get enough of it during the first twelve months of their lives when their bones are growing rapidly. This is why health care providers frequently recommend that parents give their babies a daily vitamin D supplement. But how much vitamin D should babies be given?

Classified as: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, health, vitamin D, bones, Nutricia Research Foundation, skeletons, babies, Journal of the American Medical Association
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Published on: 30 Apr 2013

Newly discovered effects of vitamin D on cancer

A team of researchers at McGill University have discovered a molecular basis for the potential cancer preventive effects of vitamin D. The team, led by McGill professors John White and David Goltzman, of the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, discovered that the active form of vitamin D acts by several mechanisms to inhibit both the production and function of the protein cMYC. cMYC drives cell division and is active at elevated levels in more than half of all cancers. Their results are published in the latest edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Classified as: Cancer, vitamin D
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Published on: 22 Nov 2012
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