Lower blood pressure can reduce your risk of heart disease
A 5p tablet could be they key to kelping you lower your blood pressure. It comes as a study, published last month in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, found taking vitamin D and calcium together may help lower blood pressure in older adults with obesity if they have a BMI (body mass index) greater than 30.
The health experts say Vitamin D deficiency is common across the globe and has been associated with cardiovascular disease, immunological diseases, infections and cancer. But taking this can help try to ward off that risk. You can pick up 30 tablets for £1.49, for example, at Boots – the Boots Calcium + Vitamin D Tablets coming in at 5p a tablet.
The study, Blood Pressure Decreases in Overweight Elderly Individuals on Vitamin D, found SBP (systolic blood pressure) and DBP (diastolic blood pressure) decreased significantly among participants. Similar trends were observed in a low-dose group, but did not achieve statistical significance.
When it comes to the dosage, they say “the total daily intake of vitamin D in the low and high-dose groups was 600 IU/day and 3750 IU/day, respectively”. The study later says that the low dose group were given a placebo pill. They further explain: “In participants with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, SBP decreased significantly in both treatment groups whereas DBP significantly decreased in the high-dose group only.”
The results show that both supplements seem to decrease SBP, which is the top number in a blood pressure reading as well as the DBP which is on the bottom. However, they noted that more is not necessarily better. Looking into their results, they said that “Vitamin D and calcium decrease SBP and DBP in overweight older individuals, but more is not necessarily better. This effect is seen in individuals with BMI greater than 30, in hypertensive patients, and seems to be largely independent of dose.”
How much calcium do I need to take daily?
Adults aged 19 to 64 and over need 700mg of calcium a day.
How much daily vitamin D do I need?
The NHS state that children from the age of one year and adults need 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D a day. This includes pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Meanwhile, babies up to the age of 1 year need 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day.
“A microgram (mcg) is 1,000 times smaller than a milligram (mg). The word microgram is sometimes written with the Greek symbol μ followed by the letter g (μg)”, they explain adding: “Sometimes the amount of vitamin D is expressed as International Units (IU). 1 microgram of vitamin D is equal to 40 IU. So 10 micrograms of vitamin D is equal to 400 IU.”
