September 30, 2010 – Vitamin D deficiency is believed to be a “new and important” risk factor that plays a major role in the development of heart disease along with hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes, say the authors of ‘a study1 American.
The researchers analyzed the medical records of 41,497 patients. They found that two-thirds had vitamin D deficiency in the blood – less than 30 ng / ml. They suffered more from hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia (cholesterol and triglycerides) – 3 risk factors for heart disease – than other patients.
More importantly, participants who did not suffer from these risk factors, but had low blood vitamin D levels, were at greater risk of developing these problems in the future.
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Which vitamin D to take? The Dr Vitamin D specialist Reinhold Vieth recommends using liquid vitamin D3. He said tablets taken in large quantities may not dissolve properly, which could lead to insufficient dosage, as some of the vitamin is excreted in the stool before it is metabolized. Learn more about vitamin D. |
The analysis also found that participants with vitamin D deficiency were twice as likely to have coronary artery disease, arterial disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. The risk was particularly high for those who had a significant deficiency, that is, a blood level equal to or less than 15 ng / ml.
In patients aged 50 years and older, moderate to severe deficiency was strongly associated with mortality and the development of cardiovascular disease.
For people living in the northern hemisphere, experts recommend taking supplements to avoid deficiencies. In Canada, sufficient vitamin D intakes for those 50 and under are 200 IU; and 400 IU for ages 51 to 70. Several specialists consider these intakes insufficient and recommend increasing them to at least 1000 IU per day. A proposal that Health Canada is currently evaluating.
Louis Gagné – PasseportSanté.net
1. Anderson JL, May HT, et al; Intermountain Heart Collaborative (IHC) Study Group. Relation of vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular risk factors, disease status, and incident events in a general healthcare population. Am J Cardiol. 2010 Oct 1; 106 (7): 963-8.
