Can healthy dose of sunshine reduce your blood pressure? Study finds link between low levels of vitamin D and hypertension

Antihypertensive drugs have common side effects such as coughing, dizziness, facial flushing and constipation, experts believe some people might benefit from vitamin D supplements instead

Getting some sun on your skin not only improves your mood but could also reduce your blood pressure, say experts.

A study found a strong link between low levels of vitamin D, absorbed by the body from sunlight, and higher levels of blood pressure.

Researchers believe it is the first study of its kind to suggest that taking vitamin D supplements could be an alternative to drugs for tacking high blood pressure in some patients. 

Around 30 per cent of people in England have high blood pressure, known as hypertension, which is the single most important risk factor for early death.

Lead researcher Professor Elina Hyppönen  said ‘In view of the costs and side effects associated with anti-hypertensive drugs, the potential to prevent or reduce blood pressure and therefore the risk of hypertension with vitamin D is very attractive.’ 

Previously, a British study of more than one million patients found people with cancer diagnosed in summer and autumn lived longer than those diagnosed at other times of the year, probably because their vitamin D levels are topped up by sun exposure.

The new findings come as debates rages over whether vitamin D plays a role in helping prevent disease, with conflicting scientific views.

Although the vitamin is found in salmon, tuna and other oily fish, and is routinely added to milk, diet accounts for very little of the nutrient that actually makes it into the bloodstream compared with sun exposure.

 

In a new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal researchers used genetic data from a database of 146,500 people across Europe and North America.

They looked at particular genetic variants in the blood which affect levels of vitamin D circulating in the blood to establish the relationship with hypertension.

The study found each ten per cent increase in vitamin D in the system was linked to lower blood pressure and an 8.1 per cent lower chance of suffering from hypertension.

Because antihypertensive drugs have common side effects such as coughing, dizziness, facial flushing and constipation, experts believe some people might benefit from vitamin D supplements instead.

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Although the vitamin is found in salmon, tuna and other oily fish, and is routinely added to milk, diet accounts for very little of the nutrient that actually makes it into the bloodstream compared with sun exposure

Figures show three quarters of Britons have vitamin D intakes which are below recommended levels, with children and older people are at particular risk.

In the UK, the Food Standards Agency does not recommend a specific daily dose of vitamin D unless you are elderly, pregnant, Asian, get little sun exposure and eat no meat or oily fish when 10mcg is advised.

It says daily supplements of 25mcg are unlikely to cause harm.

The danger with taking excessive doses for long periods is that the body absorbs too much calcium, which could weaken bones and possibly damage liver and kidneys.

Earlier this year a major review found cancer patients with more vitamin D in their blood tended to have better survival rates and were in remission longer than those who were deficient.

The findings came from analysis of 25 separate studies looking at vitamin D and cancer death rates.

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