Vitamin D Radically Reduces Death Risks
Ignore This Deficiency... And Become 3 Times More Likely to Die?
Posted By Dr. Mercola |7,292 views
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- Correcting a vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying by more than half, according to an analysis of more than 10,000 patients.
- People with low levels of vitamin D were found to be more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, and diseased heart muscle -- and were three times more likely to die from any cause compared to those with normal levels.
- The optimal vitamin D level has been raised to 50-70 ng/ml, and when treating cancer or heart disease, as high as 70-100 ng/ml. Ask your physician for a 25(OH)D blood test to find out your level.
- Vitamin D from sun exposure or a safe tanning bed is the BEST way to optimize your vitamin D levels, but as a last resort, a vitamin D3 supplement can be taken orally (research published by Grassroots Health from the D*Action study shows the average adult needs to take 8,000 IU's of vitamin D per day in order to elevate their levels to the absolute minimum necessary for disease prevention).
By Dr. Mercola
This is a really important study as it is one of the first large trials that examined the relationship of vitamin D supplementation on that of overall death rate.
Previous studies have correlated vitamin D levels but most of that was related to vitamin D levels raised naturally through sun exposure.
Numerous studies and meta-analyses have suggested that vitamin D deficiency has a negative association with survival; however, the effect of vitamin D supplementation on overall mortality has not been studied.
This is a crucially important study of over 10,000 people over a five-year period whose average age was that of most that read this newsletter (5.
This study proves very clearly that oral vitamin D works to radically decrease your risk of dying.
Are You Going to Take Advantage of this Landmark Study?
I have a simple question to ask you, the answer to which is essential for optimizing your health and even reducing your risk of premature death by 50 percent:What are your vitamin D levels?
If you cannot answer this question, you may be speeding down the health equivalent of the Autobahn with no seatbelt, and it’s only a matter of time before it catches up to you.
With a simple blood test, and similarly simple strategies to make sure your levels reach the optimal range, you can put on your figurative seatbelt -- and drastically improve your overall health.
Addressing Your Vitamin D Deficiency May Cut Your Risk of Dying in Half
Taking vitamin D supplements in order to overcome a deficiency in the vitamin could cut your risk of dying by more than half, so found a recent analysis of more than 10,000 patients. Not only was vitamin D deficiency associated with several cardiovascular-related diseases, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, and diabetes, but it was also a strong independent predictor of all-cause death.
Researchers found that patients with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, and diseased heart muscle -- and were three times more likely to die from any cause compared to those with normal levels.
Now it’s important to realize that more than 70 percent of the study participants were deficient in vitamin D, and this was based on a “normal” vitamin D level of ≥30 ng/ml.
However, the latest research suggests that any level below 50 ng/ml is actually a deficiency state, which means the number of vitamin-d deficient participants was actually much higher, most likely well over 90-95% of the patients. But it is quite extraordinary to see their improvement even at the lower levels they reported.
Because your body is designed to produce vitamin D from regular exposure of your skin to the sun, unless you live in a warm, sunny climate where you frequently spend time outdoors with large portions of your skin exposed, there’s a very high chance you, too, are deficient.
Again, in the study those who corrected their deficiencies saw their risk of death drop by more than half … which should give you an idea of just how crucial this vitamin is for your overall health.
As researchers noted:
“In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency was associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular disease and reduced survival. Vitamin D supplementation was significantly associated with better survival, specifically in patients with documented deficiency.”
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