By David Liu

Tursday, March 8, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking vitamin D supplements can not only prevent  vitamin D deficiency, but also prevent stress fracture, according to a new study published in the March 5, 2012 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The study led by K.R. Sonneville of Children's Hospital Boston and colleagues found girls who had the highest intake of vitamin D were found at 50 percent reduced risk for stress fracture.

Stress fracture is a type of fracture that is caused by stress.  IN contrast, other types of fractures are often caused by sudden and forceful impact.

For the study, the researchers followed up 6712 girls aged 9 to 15 years enrolled in the Growing Up Today Study.  Participants were surveyed for their intakes of dairy, calcium and vitamin D every 12 to 24 months between 1996 and 2001. Incident stress fracture that occurred from 1997 through 2004 was reported by participants' mothers in 2004.

During a 7-year follow-up, nearly 4 percent of the girls were found to have develop a stress fracture.  The researchers found no association between dairy and calcium intakes and risk of developing a stress  fracture.

However, they did find that vitamin D intake was inversely correlated with stress fracture risk.  And those whose intake of vitamin D in the highest quintile were 51 percent less likely to suffer a stress fracture, compared to those whose vitamin D intake was in the lowest quintle.

When the researchers studies data from the group of girls who were engaged in high impact activities for at least 1 hour per day and accounted for 90 percent of the stress fractures, they found that higher vitamin D intake predicted significantly lower risk of stress fracture.

Sonneville et al. concluded "Vitamin D intake is associated with lower stress fracture risk among adolescent girls who engage in high levels of high-impact activity. Neither calcium intake nor dairy intake was prospectively associated with stress fracture risk."

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with more than 100 health conditions including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Only a few foods contain naturally occurring vitamin D including eggs, mushroom, and cold water fatty fish such as salmon.  Other processed foods and beverages are also fortified with vitamin D, but the quantity of fortified vitamin D is not considered sufficient.  For instance, a person may need to drink 20 glasses of milk to have sufficient intake of this vitamin.

Luckily, vitamin D is available in forms of supplements.  However, food consumers are advised to use vitamin D with much filler added.  The best recommendable vitamin D supplement is Carlson lab's vitamin D drops.