The Health Epidemic Doctors Aren’t Revealing

Those who closely follow health trends know that in the world of supplements, the focus is often on “breakthrough” discoveries: herbs, antioxidants, amino acids, and other natural remedies. But sometimes, the news is really about the stuff we thought we completely understood. Case in point: vitamin D.

The importance of vitamin D to bone health has been scientifically understood since the 17th century. But it turns out that vitamin D is also important to heart health. In the U.S., for example, more than 40 percent of men and 50 percent of women have low vitamin D levels, putting them at risk for coronary artery disease and heart failure, say doctors at Cleveland Clinic. And studies have shown that people in northern Europe, have similarly low vitamin D levels as in the U.S. In many northern hemisphere countries, vitamin D deficiency has reached nearly epidemic proportions.

Vitamin D helps prevent high blood pressure, suppresses inflammation (by protecting the cells that line your blood vessels), and maintains blood-vessel flexibility. In a recent study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers who analyzed data from a landmark health and nutrition study reported that low levels of vitamin D make your heart work harder. They suggest this may be the reason why adequate vitamin D levels protect you against cardiovascular disease.

A flurry of other recent studies point to vitamin D’s other heart-protective benefits. In one, researchers noted that vitamin D supplements could protect you from congestive heart failure. In another, following German and Austrian reviews of several studies about vitamin D’s heart benefits, researchers concluded that people with low vitamin D levels, or those who are at high risk for heart disease, should take 1,000 IU of vitamin D every day. And Italian researchers discovered that older people with chronic heart failure often have severe vitamin D deficiencies.

Vitamin D deficiency also has a diabetes connection. A study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine noted that vitamin D deficiency is commonly found in people with poor diabetes control. While no cause-and-effect was established, the worse the subjects’ A1c test scores, the greater their vitamin D deficiency.

If your doctor says that your vitamin D levels are low, you’ll want to add a vitamin D supplement to your health regimen. According to the most recent research, most people who live in the northern hemisphere—especially people over 50 and those who are overweight—could benefit from taking D supplements. Here’s what you need to know.

Dosages. Though the current official recommendation is 400 IU for ages 51 to 70 and 600 IU for those over 71, many vitamin D researchers recommend taking 1,000 to 4,000 IU per day. Doctors sometimes prescribe special vitamin D supplements containing 50,000 IU, usually for elderly patients.

Cautions. Steroids such as prednisone can impair the way your body uses vitamin D, so have your doctor check your vitamin D levels regularly if you’re on long-term steroid therapy. Other drugs, including orlistat (taken for weight loss), and phenobarbital and phenytoin, (which control epileptic seizures), interfere with vitamin D absorption.

Buying tips. Look for vitamin D supplements in the form of vitamin D3, which is three times more effective at raising vitamin D blood levels than supplements containing the D2 form.