Vitamin D supplement won't help to lower cholesterol

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Vitamin D supplement won't help to lower cholesterol

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Vitamin D supplement won't help to lower LDL, or bad cholesterol, suggests new research.

06 September,2012 12:05 pm

According to the study, aking vitamin D supplements to compensate for its deficiency did not lower LDL or bad cholesterol levels -- not at least in the short term.Researchers from The Rockefeller University, New York, studied 151 people with vitamin D deficiency who received either a mega-dose (50,000 internationals units) of vitamin D3 or placebo (substance containing zero medication) weekly for eight weeks. Their cholesterol levels were measured before and after treatment.Correcting vitamin D deficiencies with high doses of oral vitamin D supplements did not change LDL levels. This was despite effectively increasing vitamin D to recommended levels, the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology reports.High levels of bad cholesterol or LDL begin to build up on your artery walls, along with other fats and debris. This buildup is called plaque. Over time, plaque can cause narrowing of the arteries or atherosclerosis, which is usually the precursor of heart disease.Vitamin D levels were nearly tripled in the group that received actual supplements, but were unchanged in the placebo group, according to a Rockefeller statement.Our study challenges the notion that vitamin D repletion improves cholesterol levels, said Manish Ponda, assistant professor of clinical investigation in Jan Breslows lab of biochemical genetics and metabolism at The Rockefeller.