Vitamin D & gums.

Vitamin D may help prevent the inflammation that causes bleeding gums and that may eventually lead to periodontal disease, say dental experts at Boston University and elsewhere.

Researchers used data from a nationwide study that probed the gums around more than 77,000 teeth belonging to 6,700 nonsmokers. Bleeding was 20 percent less likely in those with the highest blood levels of vitamin D than in those with the lowest levels.

The authors suggest that vitamin D may keep gums healthy by fighting inflammation. Earlier studies suggested that vitamin D can also prevent periodontal disease by strengthening bone.

What to do: Make sure you get the recommended levels of vitamin D: 400 IU a day if you're over 50 and 600 IU if you're over 70. (Some experts recommend 1,000 IU a day for the over-70 crowd.)

You can get vitamin D from a multivitamin (most have 400 IU), many calcium supplements, milk (100 IU per cup), and from a few brands of yogurt, margarine, cereal, and orange juice (40 IU to 140 IU per serving).

Your skin makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays (unless you're wearing sunscreen). But north of the line between Los Angeles and Atlanta, the UV light is too weak to make vitamin D from late fall through early spring.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 82: 575. 2005