Low intake of vitamin D in African American teenagers may lead to developing arterial stiffness, a sign of heart disease, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
In order to determine the effects of a vitamin D deficiency on heart health, investigators asked 44 black teens to take either 400 or 2,0000 international units (IU) daily for 16 weeks. The researchers then measured the arterial stiffness of each participant using pulse wave velocity, which monitors a persons pulse.
The team discovered that individuals with a higher intake of vitamin D showed fewer signs of arterial stiffness and had better cardiovascular health. However, teenagers who took the lower amount of vitamin D suffered from the artery problem, and were more likely to develop heart disease or suffer a stroke.
This trial is “the first clinical trial of vitamin D intervention to use 2,000 IU in black subjects and to include cardiovascular risk factors as outcomes in youth,” stated Yanbin Dong, lead author of the study. He added that these results show that “the current recommendations for vitamin D intake in black teenagers may need to be revised upward.”
In addition to vitamin D supplements, people who want to find other natural sources of the nutrient can add milk, eggs and salmon to their diet, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports. 