High blood pressure often affects older and obese people; vitamin D supplements may help lower it. A new study has found that taking 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day—the amount typically recommended for adults—lowers blood pressure in older adults, especially those who are obese. Partcipants’ overall systolic blood pressure decreased by 3.
5 mm Hg after one year, and diastolic blood pressure decreased by 2.5 mm Hg after one year. Those who took higher doses of 3,750 IU daily had a slightly higher decrease of 4.
2 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure. In comparison, those who took the lower 600 IU per day generally reported a reduction of 2.8 mm Hg after one year.
The authors concluded that the differences between the high- and low-dose vitamin D groups were not statistically significant. People with a higher body mass index (BMI) of over 30 saw more significant reductions in blood pressure, especially in the high-dose group. People who took blood pressure medication with their vitamin D also observed substantial decreases in their overall blood pressure.
“More vitamin D is not better in terms of blood pressure,” study author Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan from the American University of Beirut Medical Center told The Epoch Times in an email. “Indeed, 3,750 IU/day does not lower blood pressure more than 600 IU/day, which is the Institute of Medicine recommended dose.
” These results “need to be validated in a trial with blood pressure as the primary outc.