by Dr. Mercola

Low levels of vitamin D, the essential nutrient obtained from exposure to sunlight, doubles the risk of stroke in Caucasians, according to a new report. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States.

The research team says its results fail to explain why African Americans, who are more likely to be vitamin D deficient, also suffer from higher rates of stroke, but apparently not due to lack of vitamin D.

It is possible that the number of fatal strokes recorded in blacks might simply not have been statistically sufficient to find a relationship with vitamin D deficits.

Science Daily reports:

“Nearly 8,000 initially healthy men and women of both races were involved in the latest analysis … Among them, 6.6 percent of whites and 32.3 percent of blacks had severely low blood levels of vitamin D, which the experts say is less than 15 nanograms per milliliter.”

Sources:

Science Daily November 14, 2010
American Heart Association’s (AHA) Annual Scientific Sessions, Chicago, IL November 15, 2010

Article link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/01/27/new-study-shows-lack-of-this-vitamin-linked-to-strokes.aspx