We’ve known for a long time that vitamin D aides in the development of strong bones, but increasing research is now also showing that it’s also a vital factor in lowing heart disease and high blood pressure.
Image courtesy of healthmango.com.
Some of the best natural sources of vitamin D are found in fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel. Smaller amounts of natural vitamin D are found in foods like beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. It’s a little less known that mushrooms also contain some natural vitamin D.
Vitamin D is so important that other foods are fortified with it. These include some breakfast cereals, orange juices, and dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt.
People also naturally make vitamin D when their skin is exposed to the sun, but today’s largely indoor lifestyles are making it harder and harder for people to get the necessary benefits of sun exposure, especially during the wintertime, according to research from the Medical College of Georgia (MCG).
We use to only associate vitamin D deficiency with rickets (a softening and weakening of the bones) and osteoporosis (the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time).
New research is now also showing a correlation between low levels of vitamin D in a body and the presence of heart disease and high blood pressure.
The National Institutes of Health says that the people most at risk of vitamin D deficiency are:
- Older adults – unlike when they’re young, their skin doesn’t efficiently make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, and their kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form.
- Obese people – their body fat binds to some of the vitamin D and prevents it from getting into the blood.
- Darker skin people – the darker pigment in their skin makes it more difficult for them to absorb the ultraviolet rays that the body uses to synthesize vitamin D.
In addition, the MCG conducted a study which found that the current vitamin D supplements are inadequate in strength to produce any beneficial results, especially among young black populations.
The study conducted in Augusta, Ga., an abundantly sunny city, found that all of the 44 black teenage participants needed a supplement that exceeded the current recommended daily allowance of 400 international units (IU). It needed to be increased to 2,000 IU to be effective, according to Dr. Yanbin Dong, geneticist and cardiologist at the MCG’s Georgia Prevention Institute.
“Study participants got either 400 or 2,000 units, with blood levels of the vitamin measured at four, eight, and 16 weeks. None of the children taking 400 units achieved sufficient vitamin D levels, although their levels did tend to increase,” said Dong.
Those with the highest levels of vitamin D had more flexible blood vessels, determined by pulse rate, which also lowered their rates of arterial stiffness. Those with increased levels of arterial stiffness were also more prone to high blood pressure and heart disease.
The participants receiving the 2,000 IU dosage showed no signs of toxicity at this level, said the study.
The National Institutes of Health says signs of vitamin D toxicity include nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, and weight loss.
In a wider study of 554 participants, the Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute found that, “A lack of vitamin D, even in generally healthy people, is linked with stiffer arteries and an inability of blood vessels to relax.”
Dr. Ibnar Al Mheid, a cardiovascular researcher at Emory University School of Medicine presented the data this year to attendees at the annual American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans, saying that, “Even after controlling for factors such as age, weight and cholesterol, people with lower vitamin D levels still had stiffer arteries and impaired vascular function (compared to those with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood).
“We found that people with vitamin D deficiency had vascular dysfunction comparable to those with diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure).”
While there are clear benefits to making sure you get enough vitamin D, the National Institutes of Health warn consumers to be careful of drug interactions. Always talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking anything!
Related GreenVitals Article:
Reader comments and input are always welcomed!