MORE ON VITAMIN D

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, and a growing body of evidence suggests that it also protects against some types of cancer and multiple sclerosis. Now comes word that a deficiency of “D” raises the risk of heart attack. This finding comes from the famed Framingham Heart Study and was published in the Jan. 7, 2008 rapid access journal report of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers looked at 1,739 offspring (average age 59) of the participants of the Framingham study and found that those with blood levels of vitamin D below 15 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) had twice the risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke in the next five years compared with those with higher levels of “D.” They also found an increase in cardiovascular risk with each level of vitamin D deficiency and noted that in many areas of the United States 20 to 30 percent of the population has moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency, due to lack of sun exposure, dark skin that prevents absorption of the sun’s rays (which triggers vitamin D production in the body), and a diet lacking in vitamin D enriched foods.

...from Dr. Weil website