Restore Your Heart with Vitamin D3
Taking a vitamin D3 supplement was shown to be effective in restoring cardiovascular damage done by conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.
The new study found that the vitamin stimulates nitric oxide, which helps regulate blood flow and prevent blot clots. The vitamin also reduced the level of oxidative stress in the cardiovascular system.
“Generally, vitamin D3 is associated with the bones,” said lead researcher Tadeusz Malinski, PhD. “In clinical settings people recognize that many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency of D3. It doesn’t mean that the deficiency caused the heart attack, but it increased the risk of heart attack.”
Dr. Malinski added that “there are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular endothelial cells which are already damaged, and D3 can do it. This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system.”
What Is Vitamin D3?
Vitamin D is the catch-all term for a collection of nutrients, the most common of which are vitamins D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol). Although the body metabolizes both D2 and D3 into calcifediol, most studies show that D3 is more effective at raising blood levels of this compound.
Other Health Benefits of Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 has been shown to help treat or prevent many health conditions and diseases including certain cancers, diabetes, immune system disorders, and osteoarthritis.
How Do You Get Vitamin D3?
Vitamin D3 is produced naturally by the body when exposed to sunlight, but many people receive insufficient sun exposure for a variety of reasons including living in areas with high pollution or tall buildings that block sunlight, spending a lot of time indoors, and using sunscreen.
Vitamin D3 is also available from some food sources derived from animals including butter, egg yolks, fatty fish and fish oil, and liver.
How Much Vitamin D3 Do You Need?
If sunlight and food sources do not provide sufficient amounts of D3, supplementation is necessary. A minimum daily intake of 400 International Units (IU) of D3 is needed to avoid serious health problems, but many experts feel this dose is too low to mitigate disease risk. Instead, some physicians and researchers suggest 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for most adults.
