Vitamins have received a lot of flak in the press, after experts said they were a waste of money, may be harmful and didn't work. However a new study sheds new light on whether this may be true.
According to a new study, a link has been found between vitamin levels and hypertension, suggesting that vitamin D supplements might be a 'cheap and effective' way to treat high blood pressure.
The Independent reported that the benefits of vitamin D for patients with high blood pressure has been suggested before, but there has been a lack of evidence to back it up.
In this new study that looked at 146,000 across Europe and America published in The Lancet, scientists investigated whether low vitamin D levels affected hypertension by measuring genetic variations which affect a person’s vitamin D levels, and measuring them against blood pressure.
Story continues below the slideshow:
What did they find?
"For each 10% increase in vitamin D concentration, the chance of likelihood of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension, decreased by 8%."
The findings could revolutionise how hypertension is treated. Currently, people have to take ACE inhibitors and/or beta blockers, which are said to have side effects such as dizziness and constipation.
SEE ALSO:
The Two Vitamins That Could Unlock Healthy Aging
You Won't Believe The Amount Of Salt In Some Of These 'Healthy' Foods
Professor Elina Hyppönen from the University of South Australia, who led the study, said: “In view of the costs and side effects associated with antihypertensive drugs, the potential to prevent or reduce blood pressure and therefore the risk of hypertension with vitamin D is very attractive."
The authors acknowledge there is more work to be done.