Press Association (UKPA)
February 19, 2010

People who get plenty of vitamin D can cut their chance of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, researchers have said. Exposure to sunshine alongside a healthy diet rich in oily fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel can provide adequate protection, they said.

Researchers reviewed 28 existing studies on almost 100,000 people looking at vitamin D levels among the middle-aged and elderly. The team, from Warwick Medical School, examined the effect of the vitamin on cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

One of the authors, Dr Johanna Parker, who is currently working in a Birmingham GP practice, said: “The research we conducted looked at naturally-occurring vitamin D rather than supplements.

“We recommend people eat a healthy diet with two to three portions of oily fish a week and five portions of fruit and vegetables.

“Most – 90% – of your vitamin D comes from sunshine so we recommend sensible sun exposure in the summer. People should expose themselves for 30 minutes twice a week – this means exposing the face and arms with no sunscreen.

“This would provide the body with adequate vitamin D.”

The research was published in the journal Maturitas.

The authors concluded: “When we evaluated the effects of vitamin D levels on the risk of the individual outcomes included, we found a significant association between high levels of vitamin D and a reduction on the risk of having cardiovascular disease (33% reduction compared to low levels of vitamin D), Type 2 diabetes (55% reduction) and metabolic syndrome (51% reduction)




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