Vitamin D supplementation does not provide cardiovascular protection.

Blood measurements in the population at large have suggested that individuals with low blood levels of vitamin D have increased risks of cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke). However, until recently, it was unknown whether taking supplements for vitamin D could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

This year, a clinical trial of approximately 2500 adults in Finland, over 60 years of age, has shown that vitamin D supplementation, taken for 5 years, did not lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This trial supports the results of an earlier study from the USA (published in 2019), called the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL). That trial also showed that vitamin D had no effect on the development of heart disease. In both trials, the finding of no effect may possibly be due to sufficient vitamin D status in most participants at baseline.

Vitamin D helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body and may be measured (and treated) by doctors, if a lack is thought to be compromising bone health.