2. Vitamin D can help to reduce arterial stiffness quickly
A study has found that vitamin D supplementation improved arterial stiffness in only 4 months in obese/overweight, vitamin-deficient, but otherwise still healthy young individuals.1✅ JOURNAL REFERENCE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188424
A deficiency in vitamin D seems to contribute to rigid artery walls which are a predictor of cardiovascular-related disease.
Individuals who took 4,000 international units, over 6 times the Institute of Medicine’s currently recommended daily amount of 600 IUs for the majority of individuals, received the most benefit.
This high 4,000 international unit dose of vitamin D, now regarded as the highest, safe dose by the Institute of Medicine, significantly decreased arterial stiffness the quickest by 10.4% in 4 months.
Two thousand IUs reduced stiffness by 2% in that period of time. Arterial stiffness increased slightly at 600 IUs by .1 % and increased by 2. % in the placebo group over that period of time.
The non-invasive pulse wave velocity was used to evaluate arterial stiffness. Measurements were taken from the neck’s carotid artery to the femoral artery, the main blood vessel supplying blood to the lower body.
The heart generates a waveform when it beats, and there are smaller and fewer waves with a healthy vasculature and heart. The test basically measures how fast the blood moves, and fast isn’t good in this case.
The pulse wave velocity is higher when the arteries are stiffer, which increases cardiometabolic disease risk later on.
The different dosages, and also the placebo taken, were all packaged identically so neither the researchers nor the participants knew which dose if any, was administered until the completion of the study.
