First, the bad news.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the No. 1 cause of death worldwide.
Now the good news.
Exciting new discoveries indicate that vitamin D can protect against CVD, and, quite amazingly, even reverse the damage to diseased cardiovascular tissue.
Endothelial Dysfunction
To understand CVD, we need to understand endothelial dysfunction.The endothelium is a single layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels. These cells are in direct contact with circulating blood and have dramatic effects on cardiovascular function.
Cytotoxic substances cause cell damage or cell death.
This balance between the vasorelaxant nitric oxide (NO) and the vasoconstrictive peroxynitrite (ONOO) determines the health of the vascular endothelium. Not enough NO or too much ONOO spells trouble for cardiovascular health.
Experimental Model
Researchers try to find ways to recreate diseases symptoms so they can test cures. Researchers can apply Angiotensin-II (A-II) to healthy endothelial cells, to create an experimental model of dysfunctional endothelium. This model is similar to that observed in hypertension.The takeaway message from these studies is that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining vascular health and preventing and treating vascular disease.
Even though Malinski’s experiments were done in a Petri dish on isolated human endothelial cells, the results are immediately applicable for several reasons.
What to Do
You can take immediate steps to maintain your health in a safe and inexpensive manner by making sure you’re getting enough life-saving vitamin D. Consult with your doctor. If your doctor is not recommending much higher levels of vitamin D, 5000 IU to 8000 IU per day, they are not up to date. This is not abnormal. Clinical practice usually lags years (or even decades) behind available research.It is a good idea to get your vitamin D levels tested. For most people, 50–100 ng/ml is a healthy level and should be achieved with sensible exposure to sunlight and supplements. If you are vitamin D deficient, and getting sunlight is a problem, supplement with vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) the most bioavailable form of vitamin D.