Yet another study has linked low levels of \u201cThe Sunshine Vitamin\u201d with higher rates of heart disease and early death.<\/p>\n
University of Kansas researchers, looking at more than 10,000 patients, found that 70 percent were vitamin D deficient and that those with D deficiency were at significantly higher risk for many forms of heart disease, Reuters Health reported Nov. 25.<\/p>\n
The study was published in the American Journal of Cardiology Nov. 7. According to the study, vitamin D deficiency doubled the risk of early death, but correcting the deficiency lowered that risk by 60 percent, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
“We expected to see that there was a relationship between heart disease and vitamin D deficiency; we were surprised at how strong it was,” Dr. James L. Vacek, a professor of cardiology at the University of Kansas Hospital and Medical Center, told Reuters Health. “It was so much more profound than we expected.”<\/p>\n
According to Reuters, \u201cVacek said he believes so many people are deficient because we should get about 90 percent of our Vitamin D from the sun and only about 10 percent from our food. The human body makes vitamin D in response to skin exposure to sunlight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diabetes was also more than two times as frequent in those with vitamin D deficiency in the study, along with high blood pressure and cardiomyopathy, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n