Author: Elizabeth Baker
Vitamin D is a common product to see within a health food supplement store.
Above image from Bluebonnet Nutrition.
However, what effects does an increase or decrease in the intake of vitamin D have on health? Among the many existing studies, three have been chosen, with the study and their effects listed below. I will be going over these studies in a very broad brushstroke way.
1) Arterial Stiffness
A recent study found that reduced vitamin D levels “correlated with increased arterial stiffness” [1]. If your blood vessels cannot relax and, well, go with the flow of blood, there is an increase in potential cardiovascular events. It is bad enough that reduced vitamin D levels had blood vessels which could be compared ” ‘to [those] with diabetes or hypertension’ “, according to Dr. Al Mehid, and author of the study [1].
2) Macular Degeneration in Women
The loss of vision in an adult can be caused my macular degeneration [2]. However, high vitamin D levels may be able to reduce the development of macular degeneration at an early age [2]. This only works for women under 75 years old: if all ages are included, there is “no significant association” [2].
3) High Blood Pressure in African Americans
The third study put forth a potential link between low vitamin D levels and hypertension [3]. The study compared African Americans to Caucasian people. African Americans were noted to have a higher incidence of hypertension compared to Caucasian people [3]. At the same time, African Americans had lower levels of vitamin D than Caucasian people [3]. Therefore, it was offered as an explanation that low vitamin D levels may cause an increase in hypertension [3].
Do you want to find out more about vitamin D? While you can easily find more information in the literature and online, you can also come to Willner Chemists in Atlanta, GA. There are many varieties of vitamin D sold in the store, and knowledgeable people to help you decide which one would be best for you.
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[1] Annual American College of Cardiology Meeting, April 2, 2011.
[2] Arch Opthalmol. 2011 Apr; 129(4): 481-9.
[3] J Gen Intern Med. 2011 April 21.
Note: all three studies came from the July 2011 issue of “Life Extension” magazine.