Dietary supplementation with vitamin D in older women was
shown to improve bone health. Among healthy postmenopausal
women in the United States, a significantly greater improvement
in spinal bone density was seen after 1 y with a daily intake of
12.5 g (0.85%) than with 2.5 g (0.15%) vitamin D (23), and
women supplemented with 17.5 g/d for 2 y lost significantly less
bone density at the femoral neck (1.1%) than did those with a
2.5-g vitamin D supplement (2.5%; 24). In Denmark, supplementation
in elderly women with 10 g vitamin D/d increased
bone mineral density at the femoral neck by 2.6% after 2 y (25),
although in a recent trial, 15 g 25-hydroxyvitamin D/d did not
perform as well as 750 mg Ca in attenuating femoral bone loss
over