Catching Some Rays: Good for Your Heart?

CBS News has the story on a new study, led by Harvard School of Public Health professor Edward Giovannucci, that found that men with low Vitamin D levels had more than double the risk of heart attack...

CBS News has the story on a new study, led by Harvard School of Public Health professor Edward Giovannucci, that found that men with low Vitamin D levels had more than double the risk of heart attack, compared to other subjects in the study.

Vitamin D is produced when sunlight hits the skin. It occurs naturally in some foods, including fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, and it is added to milk in the United States.

Vitamin D protects against osteoporosis by promoting the absorption of calcium; less is known about how it might work to protect the heart. In the interview, Giovannucci suggests that people may need even more than the USDA's recommended daily allowance (200 units until age 50, then 400 until age 70, and 600 thereafter).

Watch the video or read the story here.

In earlier research, Giovannucci, who is also associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, found that vitamin D may also protect against cancer. Read more about it in the Harvard Magazine archives here.

You might also like

Five Questions with Peter R. Girguis

A Harvard professor of evolutionary biology on what lurks in the deep sea  

How AI Is Reshaping Supply Chains

Harvard Kennedy School lecturer on using AI to strengthen supply chains

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Most popular

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

Two people moving large abstract painting with blue V-shaped design in museum courtyard.

A Harvard Art Museums Painting Gets a Bath

Water and sunlight help restore a modern American classic.

Illustration of college students running under a large red "MAGA" hat while others look on with some skeptisim.

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Student walking under bright stage lights shaped like smartphones displaying social media apps.

Two Years of Doxxing at Harvard

What happens when students are publicly named and shamed for their views?