Medicine (Photo : Reuters)
Researchers found no evidence that vitamin D has any effect on lowering blood pressure.
People widely believe that taking vitamin D can lower blood pressure, especially in older adults. Dr. Miles Witham from the University of Dundee in Scotland led a study that disproves the popular health myth.
Witham and his team of researchers conducted an experiment on subjects who were given vitamin D for one month. They found out that the vitamin had no effect on both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the participants. The researchers also conducted 46 clinical trials with random placebo groups.
Witham said that the intake of vitamin D has a significant role in the health of older people, according to Capital OTC. He said that the vitamin can help strengthen the bones and prevent fractures.
Despite the wide range of proven health benefits, Witham said that more clinical trials are required to reach a conclusion whether prolonged and increased intake of vitamin D is safe for the body.
The belief that vitamin D can lower blood pressure comes from the fact that most patients with high blood pressure has lower levels of the said vitamin.
However, the study, published in the JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, now proved that vitamin D has no real effect on decreasing blood pressure.
The study's authors said that the lack of effect disproves the notion that vitamin D can be a used as a means of blood pressure control, according to Immortal.
Dr. David Agus, one of the leading biomedical researchers in the world, said that patients should ask for more information if their doctors tell them to increase their intake of vitamin D.
