LOW VITAMIN D EQUALS HIGH STROKE AND HEART DISEASE
Vitamin D Deficiency Raises Heart-Failure Risk
By Meg Tirrell, from Bloomberg
Women who don’t get enough vitamin D, found in sunshine, fish and fortified foods including milk and orange juice, have a higher chance of heart failure and stroke than those with sufficient amounts, a Danish study found.
Researchers observed 2,016 healthy women ages 45 to 58 for 16 years, characterizing low vitamin D as levels less than 20 nanograms per milliliter. Of the women with the deficiency, 15 percent had heart failure, heart attack, stroke or died, compared with 10 percent of those with adequate amounts, according to the study released today at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida.
“Healthy women with vitamin D insufficiency have a significantly increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcome,†wrote the researchers, led by Louise Schierbeck of Hvidovre Hospital in Denmark.
The research builds on data from a 2008 study that showed men with low levels of vitamin D may have an increased risk for heart attacks. It also adds to evidence of the vitamin’s broader health benefits. Researchers have reported vitamin D may be beneficial against diabetes and cancer.
The data presented today were from the Danish Osteoporosis Prevention Study. The researchers found that the 788 women with low vitamin D had greater risk factors such as high triglycerides and body mass index compared with those who received enough of the vitamin.
Dr. Pinna says:
This is an extremely valuable study. If women have heart disease and stroke caused by insufficient vitamin D, men do as well.
Vitamin D is not just a vitamin. It is a hormone. It controls four major areas of the human body:
1. Skeleton (bones)
2. Immune System
3. Vascular System (heart and arteries)
4. Cancer
All these four areas respond better if one has optimal levels of Vitamin D.
Ideally, Vitamin D will come from the sunlight striking the skin. However, there many supplements on the market. I take 5000 units daily.
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