Vitamin D deficiency increasingly common

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

As recently as a decade ago, vitamin D was mostly thought of as a helper-nutrient - it allowed the body to absorb and use calcium for strong bones. With a diet of fortified foods and a little bit of sunshine every day, most people got plenty of it.

But that was years ago. Today, research suggests that vitamin D does much more than help build strong bones, and the findings come at a time when a high number of people are no longer getting enough of the nutrient, doctors say.

"We've become a culture that shuns the sunshine and doesn't drink milk," said Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of hematology-oncology at San Francisco General Hospital.

As a result, doctors are seeing a small resurgence of rickets and are concerned about osteoporosis in adults over age 50, especially as Baby Boomers get older.