Vitamin D supplements won’t improve your cholesterol levels, at least in the short term.
That’s the chief finding of new research published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
Researchers from Rockefeller University in New York based that conclusion on a study of 151 people with vitamin D deficiency given a mega-dose (50,000 internationals units) of vitamin D3 or an inactive placebo weekly for two months.
Participants' cholesterol levels, which were measured before and after treatment, remained unchanged in both groups, the results showed, even though the supplements raised the blood levels of vitamin D substantially in the treated patients.
"Our study challenges the notion that vitamin D repletion improves cholesterol levels" said lead researcher Dr. Manish Ponda. "These clinical trial results confirm those from a recent data mining study."
Although the study questions the use of vitamin D supplements to improve cholesterol, Ponda said, the findings indicate high doses of vitamin D supplements may be safe and effective for correcting a deficiency over an eight-week period.