Better, safer, less expensive than drugs: Scientists say vitamin D could replace your meds, prevent and even reverse disease

Vitamin D is an 'inexpensive solution' to drugs as scientists discover the sunshine supplement repairs and prevents damage to the heart caused by diabetes and high blood pressure.

Vitamin D stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which is involved in regulating blood flow and preventing the formation of blood clots, according to the first study of its kind.

It also reduces 'internal stress' on the cardiovascular system (measured as disruption of the endothelial cells that line arteries), which could avoid heart-related incidents, the research adds.

Study author Dr. Tadeusz Malinski from Ohio University, said: 'There are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular cells which are already damaged, and vitamin D can do it. 

'This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system. We don't have to develop a new drug. We already have it.'

Heart disease, which is any disorder affecting the organ or blood vessels, is the leading cause of death in adults in the US, resulting in one in four fatalities.

How the research was carried out 

The researchers analyzed heart cells taken from a group of Caucasian and African Americans.

They used special sensors to track the impact of vitamin D in these cells. 

'This is a very inexpensive solution'  

Dr Malinski said: 'Generally, vitamin D is associated with the bones. However, in recent years, in clinical settings people recognize that many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency. 

'It doesn't mean the deficiency caused the heart attack, but it increased the risk.

'There are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular cells which are already damaged, and vitamin D can do it. 

'This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system. We don't have to develop a new drug. We already have it.'

The researchers believe vitamin D may also be able to repair damage to other types of cells, such as those found in the brain after a stroke.  

The findings were published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine.  

Khan, A., Dawoud, H., & Malinski, T. (2018). Nanomedical studies of the restoration of nitric oxide/peroxynitrite balance in dysfunctional endothelium by 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D₃ - clinical implications for cardiovascular diseases. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 13, 455–466. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S152822