November 20, 2009 Having a Vitamin D deficiency linked to early death, heart disease and stroke Insufficient intake of vitamin D may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease and even death a study by the Heart Institute at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City indicates. The researchers examined 27,686 patients in Utah who were 50 years of age or older with no history of cardiovascular disease. The patients were divided into three groups based on their vitamin D levels -- normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml) or very low (less than 15 ng/ml) -- and were followed for a year to determine whether they developed some form of heart disease.

Researchers at the University of Porto in Portugal found a protective effect for fruit, vegetables, vitamin C, and fiber against elevations in C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation which is used as a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk. The study included 385 men and 675 women residing in Portugal . Questionnaires completed by the subjects concerning dietary intake over the previous year were analyzed for the intake of fruit, vegetables, carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E and fiber.

Researchers at Tufts University , Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Health evaluated data from 929 subjects who participated in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Dietary questionnaires describing their intake for vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium and other nutrients were completed from 1988 to 1989 and were analyzed. The participants were then followed for 15 to 17 years, during which 100 hip fractures and 180 non-vertebral (non-spinal) fractures occurred with 80% of the hip fractures and 86% of the non-spinal fractures occurring in women.

German and Swiss researchers have found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate each day for two weeks reduces the levels of stress hormones in highly stressed people. The trial was performed on 30 people who were classified as having low or high anxiety. Researchers measured levels of stress hormones in blood and urine samples collected several times a day from the participants in the trial to measure metabolic changes.

PLAVIX is a blood thinner. It helps keep platelet cells in the blood from clumping together and forming clots that would decrease the flow of blood the direct cause of most heart attacks and strokes (platelets are tiny blood cells necessary for blood clotting). Plavix is the most commonly prescribed anti-platelet/blood thinning medicine and it is used to prevent strokes and heart attacks in at risk patients.