Lisa Nelson, RD: Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms – Is there a connection between vitamin D and heart disease? What level of vitamin D should individuals maintain to prevent heart problems?

Dr. Shelby-Lane: It is a known and documented fact that too little Vitamin D puts the heart at risk. Yet many patients are not routinely tested, and if so, they do not take the proper steps to reach optimal Vitamin D levels between 50 to 100 ng/dL. Most lab tests give 30 as a low normal, yet this is not optimal. This can be done by diet, sun exposure (in most cases), or adequate supplementation. But most of all, people are not tested. Research suggests Vitamin D deficiency may be an unrecognized heart disease risk factor.

Researchers say a growing body of evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of heart disease and is linked to other, well-known heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.