New research published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society suggests that vitamin D supplements can help reduce blood pressure in certain groups—specifically older adults with obesity and possibly those with low vitamin D levels.
However, taking more than the recommended daily amount doesn’t seem to offer any extra health benefits.
The study, titled “Blood Pressure Decreases in Overweight Elderly Individuals on Vitamin D: A Randomized Trial,” focused on a group of 221 older individuals living with obesity.
Researchers gave participants either the standard daily dose of vitamin D recommended by the Institute of Medicine (600 IU) or a higher dose of 3,750 IU. After one year, both groups showed improved blood pressure, but there was no added benefit for those who took the higher dose.
“Vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such as older people, people with obesity, and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” said lead researcher Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan from the American University of Beirut Medical Center.
“But higher doses than the recommended daily amount didn’t lead to better outcomes.”
Vitamin D deficiency is a global issue and has been linked to a number of health problems, including heart disease, immune disorders, infections, and cancer. While some studies have associated low vitamin D levels with a higher risk of high blood pressure, results from clinical trials on whether supplements can help have been mixed.
This study helps clarify that vitamin D supplements may indeed offer benefits for blood pressure control—but mainly for specific groups. People with obesity often have lower vitamin D levels due to the way fat cells store the vitamin, reducing its availability in the body. That may explain why this group responds better to supplementation.
The researchers found that the standard 600 IU daily dose was enough to reduce blood pressure in the study participants. Doubling or tripling the dose didn’t improve outcomes further.
This is important because it suggests that sticking with the recommended amount is not only effective but also safer, especially since high doses of vitamin D taken long-term can carry risks such as kidney stones, nausea, or other side effects.
Dr. Fuleihan’s team, which included researchers from the American University of Beirut, Penn State University, and Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia, recommends that doctors consider vitamin D supplements as part of a broader strategy to manage blood pressure in older adults with obesity—especially in those with known low vitamin D levels.
In summary, the study shows that vitamin D can play a modest but meaningful role in reducing blood pressure in older individuals with obesity. Importantly, more is not better—taking the standard recommended amount appears to be both sufficient and safe.
If you care about health, please read studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease.
For more health information, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
The research findings can be found in Journal of the Endocrine Society.
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