The research on the sunshine vitamin continues to broaden. A vitamin once considered only as a means for the body to absorb calcium turns out to be far more. For women with chronic pain, vitamin D makes a difference. This effect does not appear to hold for men, suggesting a hormonal mechanism.
This finding was not explained by gender differences in lifestyle or social factors, such as levels of physical activity and time spent outdoors, say the authors.
While this study does not demonstrate that taking vitamin D supplements will help women with chronic pain, it offers hope that this may be the case.
A word of caution – because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it is possible to take too much. While expert opinion is not unanimous, in general adults should have at least 400 international units (IU) per day and should feel safe with amounts at least as high as 1000 IU.
