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Vitamin D Levels are Directly Related to Hypertension.

~~As those of you who have been receiving my articles for many years now are aware I am constantly reviewing research studies about the effects of vitamin D deficiency on your overall Health and Wellness. I found another that is extremely important for you to review today, particularly in light of the fact that this month is "Heart Health Month".
     A startling statistic for you to wrap your head around is that one in three Americans has hypertension. That equates to 77.9 million Americans. That accounts in large part for other secondary complications of this epidemic of high blood pressure. These complications include the obvious secondary effects of heart attack and congestive heart failure, but also such things as kidney failure, which most Americans don't realize.
     What researchers found in a study which was published in the journal Metabolism, was that there is a direct relationship between hypertension and vitamin D deficiency. The amazing piece of this puzzle was that this relationship was totally independent of all other risk factors. That means that this was totally independent of things such as age, sex, ethnicity, family history of cardio-vascular disease, BMI and waist circumference. Even smoking status, alcohol consumption and physical activity didn't alter these findings. That means that the measured hypertension was independent off all of these factors when the vitamin D levels were deficient in the individuals studied.
     This is certainly hard for many of us to accept, and these findings do not negate the importance of these other factors in reducing hypertension. This study however demonstrates for us that even if you do all of the other variables correctly and you are deficient in vitamin D you are missing an essential piece of the "High Blood Pressure Equation".
     I know that I may be preaching to the choir, but I must encourage all of you who have not done so in the last year to please have your vitamin D level tested. This is a simple blood test that can often be incorporated in with your annual or bi-annual blood work. It will give a good indication as to what your current level of vitamin D is, and what supplementation dose may be necessary to restore sufficiency once again for this Health and Wellness sustaining nutrient.
     As many of our patients know, in celebration of "Heart Health Month" we are offering a 10% discount on one of our flagship products in the care of cardio-vascular function, ProArgi 9+. This amazing supplement not only contains 5 grams of free form Arginine, but each sleeve contains 2500 IU of vitamin D. The Vitamin D Council recommends that all adults consume between 2000 and 3000 IU of vitamin D daily just to sustain sufficiency in this essential nutrient.