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In his recent essay, Trevor G. Marshall explores how vitamin D supplementation may be contributing to the current epidemics of obesity and chronic disease[1]. Unfortunately, he has overlooked many important papers that disagree with his hypothesis. This letter points out some of the omissions. The health benefits of vitamin D3 have been reviewed recently[2]. The benefits for bone health have been known for nearly a century. Benefits for cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic diseases have been identified in the past three decades.

Diagnosis & Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency Wednesday, April 9, 2008 * 12:30pm - 6:00pm Garren Auditorium, University of California, San Diego Seminar Presentations

"We are aware of substantial scientific evidence supporting the role of vitamin D in prevention of cancer. It has been reasonably established that adequate serum vitamin D metabolite levels are associated with substantially lower incidence rates of several types of cancer, including those of the breast, colon, and ovary, and other sites. We have concluded that the vitamin D status of most individuals in North America will need to be greatly improved for substantial reduction in incidence of cancer. Epidemiological studies have shown that higher vitamin D levels are also associated with lower risk of Type I diabetes in children and of multiple sclerosis. Several studies have found that markers of higher vitamin D levels are associated with lower incidence and severity of influenza and several other infectious diseases."