Study Shows Too Much Vitamin D Can Affect Heart

In the northern cold climates, where heavily bundled people do not get enough Vitamin D through sunlight, supplementation with pills is often encouraged. But doctors are now warning that since everyone absorbs these pills differently it is better to get tested to see if the levels of vitamin D in their blood are in the normal range.

A study in UTAH on 132,000 participants showed three-fold increased risk to atrial fibrillation where blood samples showed higher than normal levels of this nutrient. According to lead author of the study,Dr. Jared Bunch, who is the director of electrophysiology research at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, a large number of patients are taking vitamin supplements nowadays. The normal level of vitamin D required is 41 to 80 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dl), while patients in the study showed readings above 100 ng/dl.

The NIH or National Institute of Health recommends a daily intake of 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D for people from 1 year to 70 years for sufficient bone health. Also, natural sources are best- like cooked salmon which has 447 IUs.

Dr. Bunch has advised people taking vitamin D supplements and who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation to get their blood levels of the nutrient checked. He also suspects that the effects of vitamin D on the heart are irreversible. He however hopes that after cutting the levels, patients’ arrhythmias “would improve as well.”