Older people are more prone to falls, and more prone to bone fracture from those falls. Vitamin D* deficiency is known to play a role in both. [1] Vitamin D deficiency in older people may occur because of inadequate sources of vitamin D in the diet or poorer absorption of vitamins in older age, but the most likely cause is reduced exposure to direct sunlight and the older body’s reduced ability to convert sunlight into vitamin D.

Vitamin D3 supplements
Most studies on the ability of vitamin D3 supplements to reduce older people’s risk of falls or fractures have found no significant evidence of benefit. Vitamin D expert Geoff Venning suspected that this was because the levels of vitamin D3 used had been quite low (400-800iu a day).

Some studies, however, have found benefits. One found that taking 800iu of vitamin D3 a day on top of a 1200mg calcium supplement reduced body sway (and therefore the risk of a fall) by 9% in elderly women. Several studies of older people living in care homes, who tend to be particularly deficient in vitamin D3, have demonstrated significant benefit.

View Vitamin Research Products' vitamin D3 1,000iu supplement

* In a supplement, the technical name for D3 is ‘cholecalciferol’. D3 in the blood is usually called ‘(serum) 25-hydroxy-cholecalciferol’ or simply 'calciferol'.