What are the Top Health Supplements?

Vitamin D

Vitamin D’s benefits for bone health, immunity and even preventing cancer are becoming better known, but our experts say that this nutrient is also crucial for a healthy heart. “Vitamin D is one of the most frequently deficient yet physiologically important nutrients for cardiovascular health,” Pizzorno says. He points to analysis published in the American Journal of Cardiology in October 2010 that linked the widespread vitamin D deficiency in the U.S. to heightened prevalence of hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and other conditions. In 2009, researchers at Salt Lake City’s Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center found that of almost 28,000 adults over age 50 with no history of cardiovascular disease, those with very low vitamin D levels were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease, 78 percent more likely to have a stroke and twice as likely to develop heart failure than patients with normal vitamin D levels.

How it works: Too little vitamin D can increase the risk of calcium buildup in the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis and potentially a heart attack or stroke. The vitamin can also counter the body’s renin-angiotensin system, which constricts blood vessels when blood volume dips, raising blood pressure. Although the current dietary reference intake is 600 IU per day, many experts now recommend 1,000 to 2,000 IU, especially in winter months when few people get adequate D from the sun.

Take note: Vegetarians, dark-skinned people and those with liver or kidney disease are more likely to be vitamin D deficient.

Continued Tomorrow

 http://newhope360.com/supplements/15-top-supplements-heart-brain-digestive-and-womens-health?page=4

http://www.depsyl.com/

http://back2basicnutrition.com/

http://bionutritionalresearch.olhblogspace.com/