Vitamin D

Q. Can taking a vitamin D supplement be bad for your heart?

A. The recent uproar over taking vitamin D supplements comes from a study reported in this MSNBC article [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45325473/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/vitamin-d-warning-too-much-can-harm-your-heart/]. What’s at the heart of this matter? On November 16^th, scientist Dr. Jared Bunch, director of electrophysiology research at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, presented a paper that said too much vitamin D can more than double the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, which is a potentially dangerous heart condition associated with heart failure and stroke. In this study that followed 132,000 patients, those participants with the highest vitamin D levels (above 100ng/dl) were 2.5 times more likely to develop atrial fibrillation.