Over the last decade or so, researchers found that people with high vitamin D levels are less prone to cardiovascular disease, so the link between vitamin D and heart health has been carefully studied. Vitamin D helps your body manage calcium and phosphate levels appropriately to ensure muscle contractions – including the heart – are regulated. Thus, the right amount of vitamin D in the body may help stave off a heart attack, heart disease or stroke. Vitamin D is also important for bone and nerve health, keeps blood vessels flexible and healthy and helps your immune system stay strong. 

While you should never add a new supplement without talking to your physician first, following are some of the ways to get more vitamin D.

Putting the D in Your Diet

Adults aged 19 and older need 15-20 micrograms (mcg) or 600-800 International Units (IU) of Vitamin D daily, according to the National Institutes of Health. If you’re concerned about a vitamin D deficiency, the best way to find out is a blood test performed by your physician.

There aren’t many foods that are naturally high in vitamin D. Those that are, however, are also on the heart-healthy list, so adding them to your diet has multiple benefits. Good choices include:

• Fatty fish, such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and trout
• Beef liver
• Egg yolks
• Mushrooms, especially those treated with ultraviolet (UV) light for more vitamin D

In the U.S., the majority vitamin D comes from fortified foods, including cow’s milk, plant-based milk and cereals, rather than whole foods.

Soak Up the Vitamin D

Getting outside for daily exercise is a great way to get more vitamin D. Researchers have known for a long time that vitamin D is created in the skin when exposed to the sun. Spending just some incidental time in the outdoors – walking to and from your car or heading down the sidewalk to grab lunch – can give you a good dose of vitamin D, and the added exercise is a bonus for heart health. Just be sure that you walk outside for small amounts of time without sunscreen and with enough skin to absorb the D rays.

Vitamin D Supplements: The Last of the D-listers

Vitamin D supplements aren’t absorbed by the body as readily as vitamin D from food and time outside. However, if your physician finds that your vitamin D levels are low, they may give you prescription supplements or discuss lifestyle changes to get your body back on the right track. Vitamin D helps keep muscle contractions, including the heart, going strong, so getting enough is vital to your cardiovascular health.

Be aware that too much vitamin D, generally from over-use of supplements, can also be dangerous. Anything over 4000 IU per day can be toxic and lead to kidney stones or too much calcium in the blood.