Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart trouble
02/28/2020 / By Bobbi Bruce / Comments
Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart trouble

Vitamin D plays vital roles in several of the body’s systems. However, unlike other vitamins, this one functions similarly to a hormone, and every cell in the body has a receptor for it. This particular vitamin is often touted for its benefits on bone health. Now, recent research suggests that vitamin D is also involved in cardiovascular health.

A study presented at the 2015 American Heart Association Scientific Session found that people who deficient in vitamin D are at an increased risk of developing serious heart conditions like coronary artery disease, heart attacks and strokes. The researchers claim that the patients’ hearts would require no further treatment if their vitamin D levels were above 15 nanograms per milliliter.

“Although vitamin D levels above 30 were traditionally considered to be normal, more recently, some researchers have proposed that anything above 15 was a safe level. But the numbers hadn’t been backed up with research until now,” said lead researcher J. Brent Muhlestein. “Even if any level above 15 is safe, one out of 10 people still have vitamin D levels lower than that. This equates to a very large percentage of our population. The best way to determine one’s vitamin D level is by getting a blood test.”

The link between vitamin D and heart health

Vitamin D is synthesized naturally in the skin by converting the UVB light from sunshine. You can also get more vitamin D from certain foods. Unfortunately, as more and more people spend less time out in the sun in favor of staying indoors, there has been a drastic increase in vitamin D deficiency. In fact, studies estimate that there are about 1 billion people suffering from vitamin D deficiency worldwide.

In this study, researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute evaluated the impact of vitamin D on the heart health of more than 230,000 patients. The researchers split the participants up into four groups (<15 ng/ml, 15-29, 30-44, ?45) and followed them for the next three years, looking for major cardiac events like death, heart attacks and the like. They found that nine percent of patients with a vitamin D level of greater than 15 nanograms per milliliter had a 35 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular events compared to the other groups.

“This study sheds new light and direction on which patients might best benefit from taking vitamin D supplements,” said Dr. Muhlestein. “Even though there’s a possibility that patients may benefit in some way from achieving higher blood levels of vitamin D, this new information tells us the greatest benefit to the heart will likely occur among patients whose vitamin D level is below 15 ng/ml.”

How to get more vitamin D

Other than simply basking in the sunlight, eating certain foods can give your vitamin D levels a quick boost. According to the National Institutes of Health, you need about 20 micrograms or 800 IU of vitamin D per day to hit the recommended daily value (DV).

  1. Salmon. Not only is this fatty fish jampacked with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but a 3.5-ounce serving of salmon can also bring you about 526 IU of vitamin D, which equates to 66 percent of the DV. However, this is only the case for farmed salmon. Wild-caught salmon packs a whopping 988 IU of vitamin D per 3.5-ounce serving, which is more than enough to hit your daily cap.
  2. Egg yolk. People who don’t like eating fish can find relief to know that whole eggs can be a great source of vitamin D. A typical, large egg yolk can yield around 37 IU of vitamin D, which is 5 percent of the DV. However, studies show that pasture-raised chickens who spend a lot of time roaming around in the sunlight can produce eggs with three to four times the amount of vitamin D levels.

Nutrients.com has everything you need to know about the benefits of Vitamin D and other ways to get more of it.

Sources:

ScienceDaily.com

Healthline.com

Academic.OUP.com

FDC.NAL.USDA.gov 1

FDC.NAL.USDA.gov 2

ScienceDirect.com 1

ScienceDirect.com 2

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