The U.S. Institutes of Medicine recommend adults aged 51 to 70 take 400 (IU) of vitamin D each day, and seniors aged 71 and older take 600 IU per day. Researchers at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, reviewed eight studies on Vitamin D and concluded that those doses aren’t enough. Vitamin D supplements of between 700 and 1,000 IU taken daily are associated with at least a 19% reduction in the risk of falls, they discovered. Vitamin D3 proved even more potent, reducing the risk of falls by 26%. Doses of less than 700 IU do not provide significant benefits when it came to falls prevention, researchers say.

The effects of the higher doses of vitamin D become apparent after just a few months, and the benefits typically last for years, according to the researchers. The report was published online in the Oct. 2 edition of the British Medical Journal.