Low Vitamin D and Heart Problems: From Kids to Adults
Heart disease, high blood pressure, risk of stroke and heart attack start at an early age even if you don’t have any symptoms until later in life. Vitamin D has been shown repeatedly to help cardiovascular disease and two different publications in the August online journal of Pediatrics confirmed it in children as well.
Vitamin D deficiency is anything below 15 nanograms per milliliter while insufficient is 15 to 29 nanograms per milliliter. The study found 61 percent of youth are in the insufficient range while 9 percent were flat-out deficient.
They furthered the study and found that those with the 25 percent lowest vitamin D scores were “2.36 times more likely to have high blood pressure, 54 percent more likely to have low HDL cholesterol levels, 2.54 times more likely to have elevated blood sugar levels and 3.88 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome.”
These two studies, while shocking, are novel in their approach to prevention. Rarely are children studied for vitamin D and this is an easy test to do in order to improve their chances of avoiding heart disease.
These studies are also important because it reminds the readers that a child with low vitamin D levels may create high blood pressure or low HDL cholesterol or elevated blood sugar in their early 20’s instead of later in life. Imagine preventive medicine at an early age instead of when it’s too late.
The vitamin D test to perform is a 25(OH) Vitamin D. Do not test the 1,25(OH)Vitamin D. If you are deficient or insufficient, work with your healthcare provider to increase your levels and make sure you are taking vitamin D3 (aka. Cholecalciferol), not vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).
Vitamin D receptors are everywhere in our body, including our vascular smooth muscle and on the inner lining of our blood vessels. This means it can help our heart muscle and improve blood pressure.
Bottom line: test your vitamin D levels and practice prevention today.
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