When most people think of vitamin D, they usually think about strong bones and a healthy immune system. That’s because this vitamin helps our bodies absorb calcium, which is needed to build and keep our bones strong. But vitamin D does much more than just help our bones—it also has an important role in keeping our hearts and blood vessels healthy.
Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because our bodies make it when our skin is exposed to sunlight.
But we can also get it from foods like fatty fish (such as salmon or mackerel), eggs, dairy products, and foods that have added vitamin D, like some cereals and orange juice. Some people also take vitamin D as a supplement if they don’t get enough from sun or food.
One surprising area where vitamin D seems to help is in controlling blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of our arteries as it moves through our body. When this pressure is too high, it’s called high blood pressure, or hypertension. High blood pressure can damage the heart and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Over the years, scientists have noticed that people with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have high blood pressure. This has led researchers to explore how vitamin D might affect the body’s blood pressure system. It turns out that vitamin D is involved in several processes that can influence blood pressure.
One of these processes is a hormone system in the body called the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, or RAAS for short. This system helps control blood pressure and how much water and salt the body keeps.
When the body makes too much of a hormone called renin, blood pressure can go up. Vitamin D seems to lower the amount of renin the body makes, which may help keep blood pressure at a healthy level.
Vitamin D also helps blood vessels work better. It may help them stay flexible and relaxed. When blood vessels are relaxed, blood can flow more easily, and the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump it. This can help keep blood pressure in a healthy range.
But it’s important to remember that vitamin D is just one part of the big picture when it comes to blood pressure. Even though people with low vitamin D often have high blood pressure, taking vitamin D supplements doesn’t always lower blood pressure for everyone.
That’s because blood pressure is affected by many things, including diet, exercise, stress, weight, and family history.
So while vitamin D is helpful, it’s not a magic fix. To keep your blood pressure in a healthy range, it’s important to live a healthy lifestyle.
This means eating lots of fruits and vegetables, getting regular physical activity, keeping your weight in a healthy range, and not eating too much salt. Getting enough vitamin D—from the sun, food, or supplements—should be part of this healthy routine.
In the end, vitamin D does a lot more than just support our bones. It plays a quiet but important role in keeping our hearts and blood vessels healthy too. So the next time you enjoy a sunny walk or eat some vitamin D-rich food, remember that you’re helping your heart as well as your bones.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about vitamins impacts on high blood pressure people need to know, and how to manage high blood pressure and diabetes with healthy foods.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best and worst foods for high blood pressure, and modified traditional Chinese cuisine can lower blood pressure.
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