There is growing recognition that low vitamin D levels are linked with numerous chronic health problems and may even be contribute to deadly cardiovascular complications. Over the last several years researchers have found associations between vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk for diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, hypertension and several common cancers. Now add premature death from heart disease or stroke to the list.
Finnish researchers studied more than six thousand middle-aged men and women for more than two decades. Those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were 25 percent more likely to die of a heart attack. They were twice as likely to die of a stroke. Although the researchers were not prepared to conclude that the low levels of vitamin D actually caused heart attacks and strokes, they did encourage other investigators to determine the optimal range of vitamin D for good health.
