07 January 2010
Vitamin D deficiency may contribute to a higher number of heart and stroke -related deaths among black Americans compared to whites, according to a new study.
In the study, blood levels of vitamin D and death rates due to cardiovascular disease where measured in more than 15,000 American adults (1). The analysis showed that a vitamin D deficiency was associated with higher rates of death among all people in the sample. In fact, those adults with the worst deficiency had a 40 percent higher risk of death from cardiac illness. This suggests that vitamin D may be a modifiable, independent risk factor for heart disease.
When researchers adjusted the statistics to look at race, blacks had a 38 percent higher risk of death than whites. As vitamin D levels rose, however, the risk of death was reduced. The same was true when researchers analyzed the effect of poverty on cardiovascular death rates among blacks, which suggests that vitamin D deficiency and poverty each exert separate risk factors.
Other at-risk people include the obese and the elderly, (particularly housebound or nursing home residents), because vitamin D levels decline with age. And although more sun exposure can boost levels of D, skin cancer is also an increasing risk to many people. Therefore, medical authorities usually recommend increased dietary intake and/or supplementation as the best way to correct a deficiency, the authors concluded.
21 May 2019
One of the most miraculous organs in the human body is the eye. It is so complex and delicate! The eye requires a specialised set of nutrients to keep it functioning well now, and into the future. We provide the run-down of nutrients for eye health.
13 July 2011
According to a new meta-analysis from Australia, long-chain n-3 fatty acids significantly reduce arterial stiffness. That may account for some of its evident cardioprotective effects. The findings provide compelling evidence for supplementation with long-chain n-3 PUFA to increase arterial flexibility.
1 July 2014
It has long been known that vitamin K, which is involved as a coenzyme in the production of coagulation factors, is essential to the regulation of blood coagulation. But vitamin K also fulfils an important role in the activation of certain enzymes which, together with vitamin D, regulate metabolism and can combat the hardening of soft tissues such as blood vessels and help slow bone demineralization. In recent years interest in this vitamin has grown considerably following the discovery of other potentially health-promoting properties. Attention centers on research into the function of vitamin-K-dependent enzymes (Gla proteins), which are found in bones and teeth as well as in blood vessel linings, the brain and other soft tissues, where they appear to regulate cell division and cell differentiation, among other things. Studies indicate that a sufficient intake of vitamin K could help prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, insulin resistance and inflammation of the joints, and above all could protect against the age-related loss of cognitive abilities.
