Vitamin D in the prevention of heart disease

(NaturalNews) Vitamin D is best known for its anti-cancer effects, but suddenly, following a flurry of recent research, it's becoming increasingly recognized for its ability to prevent diseases like diabetes and depression. Nowis also emerging as a chronic health condition that vitamin D can help prevent.Here, we've assembled a collection of relevant research quotations on vitamin D and heart disease from authors like Phyllis Balch, Dr. James Dowd, Dr. Joel Fuhrman and many more. Enjoy this unique collection!Diabetes, both type-1 and type-2, are profoundly linked to low vitamin D levels. Obesity, heart disease, hypertension and stroke are inversely related to sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels. Psoriasis, eczema, and periodontal disease are lessened by sunlight exposure and high serum vitamin D. Fertility is positively influenced by sunlight exposure and high vitamin D levels. Sunlight enhances immune system function by producing vitamin D. Dozens of disorders other than those mentioned in this summary are related to vitamin D deficiency.Vitamin D supplements are likely to be useful in preventing diabetes in areas where vitamin D deficiency is common. In a 1997 study looking at the links between environmental factors and Type II diabetes, vitamin D levels were assessed in 142 Dutch men aged from 70 to 88 years of age. Thirty-nine per cent were found to have low vitamin D levels and tests showed that low vitamin D levels increased the risk of glucose intolerance. Heart disease: Low vitamin D levels may also increase the risk of atherosclerosis.Osteoporosis is closely correlated to heart disease. Vitamin D deficiency could certainly be a factor in both, because there is a strong inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and artery calcification; the more D in the blood, the less the calcification. Artery cells have vitamin D receptors (VDR), which when stimulated by vitamin D, inhibit the incursion of calcium."I think vitamin D is an important ingredient in the longevity recipe," he said enthusiastically, as if just struck by an epiphany. "Your skin manufactures vitamin D when it comes into contact with the sun. Without that vitamin D, we increase our risk for nearly all age-related diseases including many types of cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and even autoimmune diseases like MS (multiple sclerosis)." Insufficient vitamin D markedly accelerates heart disease in kidney patients.Based on the evidence from these studies, there is no reason to take vitamin D or calcium, ever. You can get all the vitamin D you need by taking a walk in the sunshine, especially in winter, since sunlight stimulates natural formation of vitamin D. However, if you want to take vitamin D there is no risk.To ensure adequate supplies of vitamin D, get at least twenty minutes of sun exposure on the face and hands each day. If that is not possible, take 400 to at most 1,000 milligrams of vitamin D supplements daily. Do not take more than 1,000 milligrams of vitamin D daily or take the supplement for more than six months; excessive use of vitamin D is associated with atherosclerosis and heart disease. Vitamin D is needed for calcium to enter bones, and a deficiency of this vitamin is a major risk factor for both osteoporosis and bone fracture.In addition, people who receive adequate sunlight exposure do not need as much vitamin D in their diet as do people who receive minimal sunlight exposure. Vitamin D increases both calcium and phosphorus absorption. Vitamin D has also been reported to increase absorption of aluminum. Increased blood levels of calcium (which can be a marker for vitamin D status) have been linked to heart disease. Some, but not all research suggests that vitamin D may slightly raise blood levels of cholesterol in humans.Low vitamin D levels may also increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Research suggests that a low level of vitamin D increases the risk of calcium build-up in atherosclerotic plaques, and that higher levels reduce the risk of build-up. Researchers at UCLA School of Medicine measured the vitamin D levels in the blood of 173 men and women at risk of heart disease and also measured the build-up of calcium in coronary arteries (a common finding in coronary artery disease). The results suggest that calcium may regulate calcium deposition in the arteries as well as in the bone.UVB light is available in Florida essentially year round for the production of vitamin D. This is significant today - even more than historically - because vitamin D and a healthy diet represent a real Fountain of Youth. The most prevalent health problems of old age are arthritis, osteoporosis, heart disease , cancer, and dementia, and all of these respond favorably to normalization of vitamin D levels and diet. The Vitamin D Cure goes beyond the mythical Fountain of Youth for seniors because it's a Fountain for Youth, too.Vitamin D - reduces heart disease risk in women. It was reported at the 42nd annual conference on Cardiovascular Disease and Epidemiology Prevention that women who take vitamin D supplements lowered their risk of death from heart disease by one-third. The finding was an unexpected dividend extracted from an osteoporosis trial to determine the incidence of bone fracture in nearly 10,000 older women. From the trial participants, 4200 women reported taking vitamin D supplements at the onset of the study; another 733 reported a prior history of supplementation.Without enough vitamin D, adults are prone to osteoporosis and children are prone to a disease called rickets that results in improper bone growth and deformity. Vitamin D deficiencies have also been shown to play a role in the development of dozens of diseases - everything from many different cancers to diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, psoriasis, and mental illness. Once the link between vitamin D and rickets was established early in the twentieth century, American milk was fortified with vitamin D, all but eliminating the disease in America.Another study assessed vitamin D levels in colorectal cancer patients and compared them to the risk of patient death over eleven years. Those with the highest levels of vitamin D had a 48% reduced risk of dying compared to those with the lowest levels. A similar scientific investigation showed that among those with heart disease, death from any cause over seven years was doubled among those whose vitamin D levels were lowest compared to those whose levels were highest. Another investigation showed that vitamin D reduces a major predictor of aging.Low calcium and vitamin D intake has been linked to stroke. Researchers compared the diets of thirty-five women who have had strokes accompanied by no history of high blood pressure or heart disease, with the diets of women who have never had strokes. Results indicate that the healthy women's diets contained 38 percent more vitamin D and 17 percent more calcium than those of the stroke victims.It also is important to make sure vitamin D intake is adequate. Those not getting sufficient sunshine to meet their vitamin D needs should take a supplement. Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic in America, and it contributes not only to the development of osteoporosis but to increased cancer and heart disease as well. The diet and supplementation plan recommended in this book is designed to assure nutritional completeness and to help you achieve your maximal health potential. It is rich in calcium and iron from green vegetables, contains adequate protein, and is extremely nutrient dense.If you are over 50 years of age, a 400 IU of vitamin D is recommended daily, especially if it is not included in your daily supplement and you do not spend much time outdoors. If you are over 60 years of age, make sure your supplement contains 25 mcg of vitamin B12 - if not, consider taking a supplement. If you are 70 years of age or older, take 600 IU of vitamin D daily. CAUTION: If you currently have or are at risk for heart disease, or if you are a male, make sure that your multivitamin does not contain iron.Because of the lack of sunlight, you don't have enough active vitamin D, so your body pumps up your cholesterol in the hope of converting as much as possible to active vitamin D. This serves as another example of an evolutionary trade-off between procreation and longevity. To protect us from deficiencies of vitamin D, we've evolved to have higher levels of cholesterol. So now we survive to mate and to be able to stand up strong and look good, only to be felled by high LDL cholesterol and consequent heart disease and stroke.Poor vitamin D status has been linked to increased risk of breast, prostate and colon cancers, osteoporosis and other bone disorders, Type 1 diabetes, arthritis, infertility, PMS, chronic fatigue and depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, multiple sclerosis, musculoskeletal pain, and heart disease. Ironically, the few foods that contain vitamin D are mostly items that have fallen out of favor thanks to orthodoxy's fanatical anti-fat and cholesterol campaign, such as cod liver oil, butter, whole milk, liver and egg yolks.In laboratory experiments the biologically active form of vitamin D has been shown to inhibit the growth of malignant melanoma and other cancer cells. Vitamin D deficiency is implicated in a number of cancers and other major diseases. The action of sunlight on the skin is the natural way of producing vitamin D. So it is entirely plausible that the number of people who die each year of cancer of the breast, colon and prostate together with those who die from coronary heart disease, stroke and broken hips could be reduced by the adoption of regular, moderate sunbathing.Men who are deficient in vitamin D were found to have more than double the normal risk of suffering a heart attack or dying even after all other possible risk factors such as hypertension, obesity and high levels of blood fat were excluded. Populations in northern countries (with less intense sunlight and lower levels of vitamin D) have higher numbers of heart disease than sun-filled southern countries. In additon, more heart attacks occur in the winter months, when sunlight is scarce.