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Vitamin D Keeps Heart in Shape

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The list of benefits conferred by Vitamin D has just got longer. It also keeps the heart fit as a fiddle, besides developing strong bones, healthy immune system and protection against cancer, according to new research.

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In studies on rats, Robert U Simpson and his team at the University of Michigan have reported the first concrete evidence that treatment with activated vitamin D can protect against heart failure.

Treatment with activated vitamin D prevented heart muscle cells from growing bigger – called hypertrophy – in which the heart becomes enlarged and overworked, sometimes leading to heart failure.

They also prevented heart muscle cells from the over-stimulation and increased contractions associated with the progression of heart failure.

Heart failure is a progressive, disabling condition in which the heart becomes enlarged as it is forced to work harder and harder, even for routine daily activities.

Many heart patients or those with poorly controlled high blood pressure go on to experience a form of heart failure called congestive heart failure, in which the heart’s inability to pump blood around the body causes weakness and fluid build-up in lungs and limbs.

Many people with heart failure, who tend to be older, have been found to be deficient in vitamin D.

“Heart failure will progress despite the best medications,” said Simpson. “We think vitamin D retards that progression and protects the heart.”

Simpson and colleagues have explored vitamin D’s effects on heart muscle and the cardiovascular system for more than 20 years.

Way back in 1987, when Simpson showed the link between vitamin D and heart health, the idea seemed far-fetched and research funding was scarce. Now, a number of studies worldwide attest to the vitamin D-heart health link.

The findings of the study are being published in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology.

You may click to see:->Heart-healthy diet

>The Heart Scan Blog

Sources: The Times Of India

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News on Health & Science

Floating Best Stress And Pain Buster

 A recent study has found that relaxing in large, sound and   light proof tank with salt water-floating is an effective way of easing long-term stress-related pain…....CLICK & SEE

The study was conducted at the Human Performance Laboratory at Karlstad University and was carried out in collaboration with the health authorities under the Varmland County Council.

It was authored by Sven-Ake Bood, who recently completed his doctorate in psychology, with a dissertation from Karlstad University in Sweden.

The research project took under four years for concluding and included 140 individuals, all with some form of diagnosis involving stress-related long-term pain.

The recent research also agrees with an earlier thesis that improved sleep patients feels more optimistic, and the content of the vitalizing hormone prolactin increases. Anxiety, stress, depression and perception of pain declines.

The research comprised four studies that involved the treatment of pain and stress-related disorders with the aid of a floating tank. A control group that was not treated in a floating tank experienced no improvement in their health. After a period of treatment lasting a total of seven weeks, 22 percent of the participants in the floating group were entirely free of pain, and 56 experienced a clear improvement. Nineteen percent felt no change and 3 percent felt worse. And the effect persists after the treatment is completed.

“Through relaxing in floating tanks, people with long-term fibromyalgia, for instance, or depression and anxiety felt substantially better after only twelve treatments. Relaxing in a weightless state in the silent, warm floating tank activates the body’s own system for recuperation and healing,” said Sven-Ake Bood.

“The stress hormone decreases, as does blood pressure. The findings confirm and reinforce our earlier studies on the effects of relaxing in a floating tank

“The treatment method can be used for several groups, such as people with whiplash injuries, fibromyalgia, depression, and long-term stress-related pain.

“We can also see that a combination of treatment in a floating tank and traditional therapy can be effective. We are now moving on in our research and will be monitoring blood circulation in the capillaries, the oxygen uptake of the blood, and how the body’s reflexes are affected,” he added.

The study has been published in the prestigious American publication International Journal of Stress Management .

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