Vitamin D Proven to Support Heart Health—But Government Policies Still Stand in the Way

A major new study confirms vitamin D’s heart health benefits, but government censorship is keeping this life-saving information out of your hands.

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THE TOPLINE

• A new meta-analysis shows vitamin D supplementation can lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular death in overweight and obese individuals.
• Despite mounting evidence, government policies censor truthful health information about vitamin D and other supplements, keeping consumers in the dark.
• ANH-USA is leading a historic campaign against the FDA to restore Americans’ right to know about the proven benefits of safe, natural supplements.

If you’re overweight or obese—and more than 70 percent of American adults are—your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke is higher than average. But what if something as simple, safe, and inexpensive as vitamin D supplementation could lower that risk? A new meta-analysis shows that it can: vitamin D supplementation was associated with reductions in heart attacks, stroke, and cardiovascular death among overweight and obese individuals.

The fact remains that most Americans will not benefit from this information because government policies prevent it—policies that are in place to ensure that drugs remain the dominant form of healthcare in this country.

You may see headlines about studies like this in your news feed, but without the ability to see clear, science-backed health information when buying supplements, most Americans will miss out on the benefits. Until these policies change, we’re left with government-enforced censorship designed to keep supplements in the shadows while drugs remain the default option.

That’s why we’re leading a landmark campaign against the FDA to allow truthful speech about supplement benefits. In our latest filing, we identified eight vitamin D health claims—alongside 110 claims for other nutrients—made by federal agencies themselves, yet supplement companies are still prevented from sharing them with the public. These include vitamin D’s role in reducing both high blood pressure (hypertension) and high blood cholesterol, two of the most well-established risk factors for heart disease. The trouble is that the medico-industrial complex has spent decades blocking free speech about nutrients that protect against disease—hence our latest petition against the FDA. 

In it, in addition to the two claims above, we’re pushing to get another 6 vitamin D nutrient-disease claims allowed on the labels of conventional foods, dietary supplements, medical foods or functional foods that contain more than 600 IU of vitamin D.  

• Lowering the risk of rickets in children
• Lowering the risk of osteomalacia in adults
• Reducing weak, painful muscles
• Reducing the risk of falls and loss of balance in the elderly
• Lowering the risk of infections from harmful bacteria and viruses
• Reducing the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS)

These are just the benefits recognized by government agencies. The integrative health community recognizes far-reaching and extensive benefits to vitamin D supplementation. This is in stark contrast to the mainstream medical community, whose advice about vitamin D is dangerously inadequate. For example, the former director of the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements said in an interview that “Vitamin D supplements aren’t necessarily needed unless someone isn’t getting enough vitamin D from the foods and beverages they consume.” It seems he was unaware of the fact that over 90 percent of Americans don’t get enough vitamin D, and that’s just to meet the government’s low standards, not optimal levels recommended by integrative medical experts.

This is the crux of the fight: Americans are being denied access to the truth about safe, natural, and affordable tools for better health, even when those truths come from the government’s own scientific agencies. Instead of empowering people to prevent disease, our system prioritizes drugs and procedures that come with staggering costs and side effects.

ANH-USA will continue challenging these barriers until every American has the right to know how nutrients like vitamin D can protect their health. It’s time for government policy to catch up with common sense and give people the freedom to choose prevention over profit-driven medicine.

Please share this article widely to help others understand more about the crucial battle to save free speech on health—and please also consider supporting our ground-breaking legal work with a donation. Every cent counts when the stakes are so high.