Fifty years ago, the American Heart Association convinced millions of people to ditch nutrient-rich foods like eggs in favor of low-fat grains and starches.
Since then, heart disease has soared to become the number one killer in the country. And eventually, the world.
Of course, mainstream medicine and the AHA continue to blame this dramatic increase on high cholesterol. But as a regular reader, you know that cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease.
And a new study from Harvard confirmed yet again, neither do eggs…1
In fact, eggs are so healthy, I call them “nature’s perfect vitamin pill.” They have every vitamin you need for good health – including the B vitamins, C, A, E, and K.
But, eggs are also one of the the best natural sources of vitamin D you can eat. According to an Australian meta-analysis done in 2019, two eggs a day provides 82% of an adult’s recommended daily vitamin D intake.2
And another new study discovered vitamin D is essential in decreasing your risk of heart disease.
In this study, researchers from the University of South Australia found genetic proof for the role vitamin D deficiency plays in causing heart disease.
The researchers dug into a massive volume of data from almost 300,000 participants. They determined that people with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to suffer from heart disease and higher blood pressure than persons with normal levels of vitamin D.
For participants with the lowest concentrations of vitamin D, their risk of heart disease was more than double that of those with higher vitamin D levels.
This study backs up earlier research conducted on more than 27,000 patients at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. This study found that people with the lowest vitamin D levels were 43% more likely to develop coronary artery disease than those with normal levels.3
Vitamin D is also known to help lower the risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and it helps prevent autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
And that’s not all. A recent study shows vitamin D binds directly to your DNA and triggers a gene that stops inflammation. As you probably know, inflammation is behind all of the chronic diseases we see today.
I’ve been testing the vitamin D levels of my patients for decades. Now, scientists are finally admitting that vitamin D should be measured to assess a person’s heart disease risk.4 Ask your doctor for a simple blood test.
Increase Vitamin D To Protect Heart Health
Here’s what I recommend you do to increase your daily intake of vitamin D and protect your heart – and your health:
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- Get some sun: You probably know by now that when sunshine hits your skin, it produces vitamin D. To get the most vitamin D in the least amount of time, I recommend getting outside between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. That’s when the sun is highest and its rays are strongest so you can get some good exposure over a short time. Spending as little as 10 minutes in the midday sun can give you 10,000 IU of vitamin D. But, going outside in the sunshine helps protect your heart in another way… When the sun hits your skin, your body releases nitric acid. This compound lowers your blood pressure. And of course, the healthier your blood pressure, the lower your risk of cardiovascular disease is.
- Eat the right foods: Fatty fish, such as salmon, herring, sardines, and tuna, are rich sources of vitamin D. You can also use cod liver oil when you cook for an extra punch. Other great sources are sun-dried mushrooms and grass-fed beef liver. And don’t forget to eat a couple eggs a day. But, choose pasture-raised eggs. Compared to conventionally raised chickens, eggs from free range chickens have four times more vitamin D in them.
- Supplement with the right kind of D: Considering how common vitamin D deficiency is, supplementing is essential for most people. Choose a vitamin D3 supplement called cholecalciferol, which is identical to the vitamin D3 that your body produces. Be sure to avoid the synthetic, less potent and less absorbable vitamin D2 form you find in many multivitamins. Get between 5,000 and 10,000 IUs a day. I recommend taking vitamin D with magnesium and vitamin K2. Both of these activate D3 and increase its absorption.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References:
1. Drouin-Chartier J, et al. “Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis.” BMJ. 2020 Mar 4;368:m513. doi:
2. “New nutritional analysis reveals Aussies can get 82% of daily Vitamin D intake this winter with an average serve of eggs.” Australian Food News. 2020.
3. “Vitamin D Shows Heart Benefits in Study,” NYTimes.com, 11/16/2009
4. Zhou A, et al. “Non-linear mendelian randomization analyses support a role for vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular disease risk.” Eur Heart J. 2021