So far in this issue, I’ve told you about recent studies that examine the roles of red wine and omega-3s in preventing heart disease. And I also warned you that the most common drug treatments to try to prevent heart disease appear to be worthless—or worse.
But it turns out there is one more heart-related breakthrough on the horizon—and it involves a nutrient I’ve mentioned numerous times over the past year. Vitamin D.
I’ve reminded you many times in these pages about the health benefits of vitamin D—and the fact that most people are deficient in this critical nutrient.
Now, a large-scale genetic study involving over 155,000 participants has made a truly tremendous discovery…
Low levels of vitamin D cause high blood pressure.
While other studies have found an association between low vitamin D and high blood pressure, this is the first to demonstrate that low vitamin D actually causes hypertension.1
And increasing your vitamin D levels can have a significant impact on your heart.
In fact, for every 10 percent increase in vitamin D levels, there was an 8.1 percent decrease in the risk of developing high blood pressure. That’s a nearly one for one benefit.
These researchers concluded that vitamin D may very well be the best means to reduce high blood pressure and heart disease.
As I mentioned in a recent Daily Dispatch (7/1/13, “Can you get too much vitamin D in the summer?”), other recent studies indicate that you can’t get “too much” vitamin D. So everyone should supplement with 1,000 IU per day. It won’t harm those who have sufficient levels—but it will do a world of good for everyone else.
Source:
1. “Genetic research clarifies link between hypertension and vitamin D deficiency,” ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com), 6/10/13