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# Vitamin D does not help people at high cardiovascular disease risk
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/vitamin_d_dyslipidemia_2003120638/
- Published: 2012-10-03T19:37:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:01:32.000Z
- Description: In a trial of 151 vitamin D deficient adults at elevated cardiovascular risk, eight weeks of 50,000 IU vitamin D3 weekly failed to improve the lipid profile and slightly raised total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL. The trial was short and covered only this group.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

By David Liu, PHD

Wednesday Oct 3, 2012 ([foodconsumer.org](http://www.foodconsumer.org/)) -- A small clinical trial in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology suggests that taking a vitamin D dietary supplement does not help people with vitamin D deficiency who are at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease in people with dyslipidemia which in developed countries refers to high cholesterol and triglycerides.

The small clinical trial led by Jan L. Breslow, Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism, the Rockefeller University in New York, NY showed taking a vitamin D dietary supplement for a short term did not improve the lipid profile or dyslipidemia. Instead, it slightly increased total cholesterol, triglycerides, bad cholesterol and good cholesterol.

It should be noted that the subjects in the clinical trial had a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and dyslipidemia and the clinical trial results may not be applied to people who do not have the same medical condition. Also the trial considered only the short term effect, meaning that it remains unknown whether a long term supplementation may render a good outcome.

Vitamin D deficiency is known to be associated with dyslipidemia, but it is unknown whether taking an oral vitamin D dietary supplement would improve the lipid profile, according to the authors. The trial was intended to examine how vitamin D could affect the lipid profile in people with vitamin D deficiency and dyslipidemia.

The clinical trial involved 151 adults who were at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease and had vitamin D deficiency, which was defined as having less than 20 ng/mL of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Subjects were assigned to receive 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 or a placebo on a weekly basis for a period of eight weeks.

The researchers found vitamin D failed to improve the lipid profile. Specifically, compared with the placebo, vitamin D supplementation did not change small LDL particle number and slightly increased total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and triglycerides.

In those who received the dietary supplement, serum calcium was increased whereas serum parathyroid hormone was decreased, according to the clinical trial report.

The researchers concluded "In contrast to the association between low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and dyslipidemia, correcting vitamin D deficiency in the short-term does not improve the lipid profile.."

"Repletion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels raised serum calcium levels and decreased serum parathyroid hormone levels. These expected physiological responses to vitamin D therapy were correlated with a significant increase in LDL cholesterol."

Vitamin D as a dietary supplement may help many chronic diseases. For instance, vitamin D researchers suggest that taking vitamin D supplements may help prevent 70 percent of all breast cancer cases. But again no quality clinical trial has ever proved that vitamin D can be used a therapeutical agent for such a disease.

According to the Vitamin D Council, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with more than 100 medical or health conditions including cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, depression and infections among others. So even if vitamin D does not seem improve the lipid profile in the study subjects, use the dietary supplement anyway for other health benefits.

Early studies have shown that red yeast rice is as least as effective as statins at reducing serum cholesterol. So even if vitamin D does not help, there is still a natural remedy is readily available, which is safer while having the same efficacy as statins.