Why Vitamin D is essential as you grow older

Topping up on Vitamin D may help prevent older people from falling, according to a new study.

While the suggested benefits of Vitamin D have previously included increase in muscle, this small US study, carried out among a Meals on Wheels group, saw a reduction in falls by half among those who took an additional 100,000 international units of vitamin D, compared to participants on placebos.

The results were published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society but researchers say larger trials need to be carried out.