Vitamin D supplements may be pointless for preventing heart disease and cancer, study finds
- Study participants took a dosage of vitamin D or fake vitamin pills for five years
- Results showed that the supplement was not effective at lowering the risk of heart disease or cancer
- A recent news report found that more than 10 million Americans have been tested for vitamin D deficiencies, costing US taxpayers $365 million
A record number of Americans are being tested for vitamin D deficiencies – despite new evidence suggesting the nutrient has little impact on your risk of heart disease.
The ‘sunshine vitamin’ has been touted over the last several years as a way to boost heart health and lower cancer rates.
But a new study presented at the American Heart Association conference found that participants’ vitamin D levels had no effects on cancer risk or preventing serious heart issues as heart attacks and strokes.
It comes on the heels of a recent report that found more than 10 million US adults were tested for vitamin D deficiencies, costing taxpayers $365 million.
A new study has found that high doses of Vitamin D are not effective in lowering the risk of heart disease or cancer in older people (file image)
Vitamin D, which the skin makes from sun exposure, has been a hot topic among both the medical community and the general public for years due to long-held beliefs that it promotes heart health.
It is naturally found in foods including milk, eggs and fatty fish, but many foods are now fortified with it.
A 2009 study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported that lower levels of vitamin D was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
And a study conducted on mice earlier this year from the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia found that vitamin D helped prevent scar tissue from building around mice hearts.
This has led to more than a quarter of American aged 60 and older taking a daily vitamin D supplement.
The new study, led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, looked at the effects of vitamin D in preventing heart disease and cancer.
Nearly 26,000 adult participants were involved, none of whom had a history of either health condition.
Participants were split into three groups: one that took a daily dose of 2,000 unit capsules of D-3 (the most active form of vitamin D), one that took the same dosage of D-3 and a placebo, and one group that took two placebo dosages.
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TWO BRANDS OF DOG FOOD RECALLED OVER VITAMIN D TOXICITY
Nutrisca and Natural Life Pet Products have issued a voluntary recall for certain bags of dry dog food containing chicken, chickpea and potato because they have too much Vitamin D in them.
The voluntary recalls were issued earlier this month after three pet owners reported their pets suffered from vitamin D toxicity after eating the dry food.
An investigation ‘revealed a formulation error led to the elevated Vitamin D in the product,’ according to their recall notices.
Nutrisca is recalling: 4 lbs bags Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food Bag (UPC: 8-84244-12495-7), 15 lbs bags Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food (UPC: 8-84244-12795-8) and 28 lbs bags Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food (UPC: 8-84244-12895-5).
The bags were distributed to retail stores across the country and have best by date codes of February 25, 2020 through September 13, 2020.
Natural Life Pet Products, meanwhile, is recalling its 17.5 lbs bags of Natural Life Chicken & Potato Dry Dog Food (UPC: 0-12344-08175-1).
These bags have best by date code of December 4, 2019 through August 10, 2020. They were sold in retail stores in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and California.
The date codes can be found either on the back or bottom of each bag.
Signs of dogs who’ve eaten too much Vitamin D are said to include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss.
Researchers followed the participants for five years and, at the end of the study period, concluded that the vitamin did not lower the risk of heart disease or cancer.
‘Supplementation with vitamin D did not result in a lower incidence of invasive cancer or cardiovascular events than placebo,’ the authors wrote.
Vitamin D did seem, however, to reduce cancer deaths – but not diagnoses – by around 25 percent.
‘I think we need to accept that that’s a good test’ and that the vitamin is not worthwhile,’ Dr Jane Armitage, a professor of clinical trials and epidemiology at Oxford University in England, told the AP. ‘We do not see any benefit.’
Kaiser Health News reported in August that vitamin D has become a big business for researchers at the expense of US taxpayers.
In 2016, doctors ordered more than 10 million vitamin D deficiency tests for Medicare patients – a 547 percent increase from the amount of tests ordered in 2007 and costing taxpayers $365million.
Dr Michael Holick, an endocrinologist from Boston University, is the man most responsible for the boost in supplement sales and testing. He has written several books and conducted numerous studies on the benefits of vitamin D.
However, Kaiser Health News found that Dr Holick has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies that make vitamin D supplements and healthcare companies that make vitamin D tests.
Dr Clifford Rosen, a senior scientist at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute who was not involved in the research, wrote in an accompanying editorial to the new study that the results are evidence that healthy adults do not need to undergo routine blood tests for vitamin D levels.
Health experts do stress that, despite the lack of evidence that vitamin D can prevent heart disease, it is important for absorbing calcium and building strong bones and muscles.
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