A new study has found that supplementation with vitamin D3 improves blood pressure and insulin sensitivity in children. The type of vitamin D the human body makes when skin is exposed to sunlight, D3 is generally considered to be its most bioavailable form. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by researchers from the United States, the study looked at overweight and obese children aged between 10 and 18 years old who were deficient in vitamin D. After a period of six months, the researchers found that children taking higher doses of vitamin D3 had lower blood pressure and improved insulin sensitivity compared to those taking lower doses. The study concluded that optimizing children’s vitamin D status may improve their cardiovascular health.
At the beginning of the study, the 225 children taking part in the trial were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Each group was given pills that looked identical, but which contained different amounts of vitamin D3. One group received 600 IU of the vitamin per day, while the others were given 1,000 IU or 2,000 IU respectively. During the study, neither the children nor the researchers knew which dose each participant was receiving.
At the end of the six months, the researchers found that children taking 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day had a reduced fasting glucose level and improved insulin sensitivity. These findings indicate a reduced susceptibility to diabetes and improved cardiovascular health. As Dr. Rath describes in his book, ‘Why Animals Don’t Get Heart Attacks…But People Do’, cardiovascular disease is the key complication for diabetic patients.
Children taking 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day during the study were found to have lower blood pressure. The importance of this finding is reflected in the fact that, of all cardiovascular health conditions, high blood pressure is the single largest epidemic.
Significantly, the researchers found that other indicators of cardiovascular health, such as arterial stiffness and inflammatory markers, did not show improvement with vitamin D3 supplementation. This illustrates that, as studies carried out at the Dr. Rath Research Institute have shown, optimum health outcomes are dependent not on supplementing with any single micronutrient alone, but on the use of carefully chosen synergistic combinations of micronutrients.
As important as vitamin D is, therefore, the most effective protection against high blood pressure and the complications of diabetes can only come through supplementation with the proper combinations of micronutrients. Through following Dr. Rath’s Basic Cellular Health Recommendations, and adding the necessary micronutrients for protecting against high blood pressure and diabetes, adults and children alike can increase their chances of living a longer, healthier life. As the buildup of deposits in the arteries has been shown to start as early as the second decade of life, it is particularly important that children begin appropriate science-based supplementation as early as possible. Regardless of age, however, for everyone, young or old, the sooner you start such a supplementation program, the more years you will add to your life.