(02/05)

However, one supplement that may not benefit Crohn’s disease sufferers is Vitamin D, reports a Los Angeles team. Dr Abreu and colleagues found that 42% of 138 Crohn’s patients that they studied had abnormally high vitamin D levels, compared to a group of ulcerative colitis patients they also tested. The levels were high enough to increase the loss of bone density. (While Vitamin D is essential for maintaining bone density - see following item - excess Vitamin D can, paradoxically, cause bone density loss.)

The researchers believe that the high Vitamin D levels may be a result of underlying gut inflammation, but urge Crohn’s patients not to take Vitamin D supplements unless a test has shown they are needed.

Abreu MT et al, Gut 2004; 53: 1129 – 1136.

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