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Vitamins C and D Support a Healthy Heart

By Jolie Root

Three risk factors for heart health complications are high triglycerides, inflammation and being diabetic. People who are pre-diabetic with high glucose levels, high fasting insulin levels, waistline obesity and/or elevated triglycerides are at increased risk of having heart issues, too. These risk factors can be seen in children, but also in young adults. Being overweight raises the potential for these problems to occur earlier in adulthood, and sadly, two out of three adults in the U.S. are either overweight or obese.

A 2015 study shows daily doses of vitamin C to be protective against such risks. In obese patients with high blood pressure and/or diabetes, eight weeks of treatment with 500 mg of vitamin C resulted in reductions of two markers of inflammation, hsCRP (52 percent) and IL6 (36 percent). These individuals also benefitted by reductions in serum glucose levels (33 percent) and triglyceride levels (31 percent).

Modifying the individual risk factors for heart disease such as high LDL and low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, waistline obesity and inflammation is the goal of a heart healthy lifestyle no matter what our age. Vitamin D is one nutrient that shines in this regard. A 2012 study in the Journal of Nutrition revealed that lower vitamin D levels were linked to having greater waistline circumference, higher fasting glucose levels, higher fasting insulin levels, higher triglyceride levels and higher LDL cholesterol levels.

References:

Effect of vitamin C on inflammation and metabolic markers in hypertensive and/or diabetic obese adults: a randomized controlled trial. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 2015;9:3405-3412

Shivaprakash and Joseph: Serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Levels, Plasma Glucose & Lipid Levels International Journal of Scientific Study January 2014 Vol 1 Issue 4.