Could Vitamin D Protect Against Heart Disease?

Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed*** and may vary from person to person***.

Vitamin D and heart diseaseIf you have heart disease, I’m sure you’ll be interested to learn how the nicer weather—as well as how all-important vitamin D supplements—can provide big benefits for your condition.

In this case a little “sunshine for your heart” is a good thing—and if you ask me, the sunshine and warm temperatures can’t arrive fast enough!

Vitamin D Can Have Remarkable Impacts on People With Heart Disease, Study

For years, doctors have been telling you to stay out of the sun or lather up with sunscreen before stepping foot outside. But in recent years there have been major discoveries regarding the health benefits of direct sunlight exposure. As you may or may not be aware, sunlight is the best way to get the all-important vitamin D.

I say vitamin D is all-important because it’s very closely associated with a number of health conditions. Vitamin D deficiencies are quite common and linked with a variety of issues such as weight gain and heart health. In fact, new research is showing that increasing vitamin D intake can have remarkable impacts on people living with heart disease.

A five-year-long study from the University of Leeds in England researched the effects of vitamin D on more than 160 patients with heart disease. Eighty of the patients took daily doses vitamin D3 supplements for a year, while the other group received a placebo. All of the patients remained on their current treatments—ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, or pacemakers—while in the study.

The group taking vitamin D3 showed real improvement in heart function, indicating two important findings: getting adequate vitamin D3 may help prevent heart disease, and this improved heart function can also help avoid costly surgical implants or other expensive treatments.

Heart performance was assessed by taking cardiac ultrasounds that measured ejection fraction, which is the amount of blood pumped out of the heart during each beat. The ejection fraction of a healthy person is typically between 60% and 70%, while the heart disease patients in the study had an average ejection fraction of only 26%.

The patients who took vitamin D3 had their ejection fraction increased to 34%, while the placebo group experienced no change. This is a major victory for people suffering from heart disease—a condition affecting more than 23 million people worldwide and a leading cause of death for Americans.

How to Increase Your Vitamin D Intake

Vitamin D3 has repeatedly been shown to be a major factor in heart health and needs to be considered by anybody who’s serious about having a strong heart. You can easily increase your vitamin D3 intake by getting direct sun exposure for 20 to 30 minutes per day and/or supplementing with 1,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day. Dosages of 10,000 IU per day, however, should not be continued for longer than three months.

Source for Today’s Article:
“Vitamin D improves heart function, study finds,” Science Daily web site, April 4, 2016; https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160404152900.htm, last accessed April 12, 2016.