Lack of Vitamin D Linked to High Blood Pressure
THURSDAY, Sept. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Low blood levels of vitamin D in younger women tripled their risk of high blood pressure 15 years later, new research has found.
Vitamin D deficiency, defined as less than 80 nanomoles per liter of blood, was measured in 1993 at the start of the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study, explained study author Flojaune C. Griffin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
By that measure, more than 80 percent of the 559 women first tested in the study had vitamin D deficiency, while 2 percent were being treated for high blood pressure and another 4 percent had undiagnosed high blood pressure.
Click here to comment on this article.No association between vitamin D levels and high blood pressure was seen at that time. But in 2008, when 19 percent of the women had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and 6 percent had the condition but didn't know it, the incidence of high blood pressure was three times higher for women who had vitamin D deficiency at the study's start, after adjusting for the effects of age, obesity and smoking, Griffin said.
Griffin was to report on the findings Thursday at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Conference in Chicago.
What happened to the women in the intervening years in terms of vitamin D intake is unknown, Griffin said. "We don't have any information about how the women were eating beyond that baseline measurement," she noted.
The recommended intake of vitamin D has risen since the study began. Current guidelines call for an intake of 400 International Units (IU) for people under 60 and 600 IUs for those aged 60 and older, Griffin said.
"Exposure of skin to the sun is the most potent way to increase vitamin D levels," she added. "The main food sources include fatty fish, such as wild salmon. Also, milk and milk products are fortified with vitamin D."
There is no way of knowing whether increased vitamin D intake over the years might have affected the incidence of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for such cardiovascular problems as heart attack and stroke, Griffin said.
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Grassrootshealth D Action are a charity run by Vitamin D scientists with the aim of getting recent vitamin D research into public knowledge. As part of their campaign they offer postal 25(OH)D testing at cost price. $40 £24 worldwide.
This is the easiest way of being sure your intake of Vitamin D from sunshine/uvb or from supplements is effective (diet can only provide a tenth of our daily need.
On the Grassrootshealth site is a chart showing disease incidence in relation to Vitamin D status.
From this you can see that levels above 55ng/ml offer the greatest protection.
For most adults 5000iu/daily/D3 will be required to achieve a 25(OH)D above 55ng. 1000iu/daily for each 25lbs weight should do for kids. Up to 10,000iu/daily is known to be safe for adults even in places where sunshine is available throughout the year. Given the evidence that higher vitamin D status is linked to longer life and less illness until such time as the definitive research is completed it is sensible to stay on the safe side. Our skin will naturally make 10,000iu of vitamin d given a few minutes exposure to sunlight.
This calculator works out the exposure required for 1000iu multiply by 5 (or expose 5x as much skin surface) and you can be sure to meet your daily need, without risking getting burnt add a little longer to ensure you have a surplus to store and after you have been doing that daily for a couple of months get a 25(OH)D test to see how good your skin is at making D3. If the opportunity of laking naked in the midday sun isn't available then using effective strength D3 is the other option. But the amounts used has to be equivalent to the amounts of vitamin D3 your skin naturally makes given UVB exposure.
Human breast milk NATURALLY flows replete with D3 when a NATURAL 25(OH)D status is achieved this therefore is a natural biomarker for vitamin d sufficiency so anything less than 55ng/mL is not optimal status. Levels below 30ng/ml are linked to measurable damage to bone structure. and should be regarded as DEFICIENCY status.