Are low levels of Vitamin D associated with an increase risk of Diabetes?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble, hormone-like vitamin, which means body fat acts as a “sink” by collecting it. If you’re overweight or obese, you’re therefore likely going to need more vitamin D than a slimmer person — and the same holds true for people with higher body weights due to muscle mass i.e. amateur and professional athletes.

It is common knowledge that obesity and physical inactivity can lead to type 2 diabetes.  But what about your impact does your levels of Vitamin D have?.

The Endocrine Society, published details of a study that looked at the vitamin D levels of 118 people with a wide range of weights (from slim to morbidly obese) while taking into account whether they had diabetes.   According to the researchers people who have low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have diabetes, regardless of how much they weighed.  The researches concluded that vitamin D is associated more closely with glucose metabolism (and hence your chance of getting diabetes) than obesity!

One Indian study found that vitamin D and calcium supplementation, in combination with exercise, can prevent pre-diabetes from progressing into type 2 diabetes. The study found that for every unit increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of progression to diabetes in people with pre-diabetes went down by 8 percent.

In 2013 Taleai, Mohamdi and Adgi found that type 2 diabetics given 50,000 IUs of oral vitamin D3 per week for eight weeks experienced “a meaningful reduction” in fasting plasma glucose and insulin. Other research showing this link includes but is not limited to the following:

In 2016 scientists studied 23 children with type 1 diabetes to understand the  association between type 1 diabetes control and vitamin D deficiency.  The team found those children with healthy weight had a high incidence of low levels of vitamin D, especially if they were Caucasians. In particular, they found children who were not normally considered to be at risk for low levels of vitamin D had low levels. The researchers recommending monitoring the vitamin D levels of all children with type 1 diabetes.

 

Research

Endocrine Society study see>> https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-02/tes-vdd021815.php

Indian Study reported in Nephrology 22 June 2014 see>> http://www.nephrologynews.com/raising-low-vitamin-d-levels-lowers-risk-of-prediabetes-progressing-to-diabetes-in-study/ 

2013 study see >> https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1758-5996-5-8

2016 study see >> http://www.hcplive.com/medical-news/children-with-diabetes-may-lack-vitamin-d

Related Posts

  • What helps fights colds? Part 1

    Its that time of year when people tend to get colds, so I wanted to share some tips on natural ways to fight colds. Vitamin C The first thing I reach for when I feel I am run down or coming down with a cold is high dose Vitamin C.  There is scientific evidence to suggest that taking vitamin C can shorten a cold by nearly 20%. Zinc One study showed that if kids take a zinc supplement they reduce the number of colds they get by 50%.  If you take zinc when you start getting a cold it can help to shorten the duration of the cold. Pelargonium Sidoides An African herb is the key ingredient in Umcka ColdCare.  Studies sho that this herbal remedy can help resolve coughs, especially chesty coughs and relieve sore throats. Salt For sore thoats, I normally gargle with salt water.  Please be careful not to swollow it as it will make you vomit.  I then make a tea, by adding hot water to a chunk (2 cms) of fresh ginger, a slice of lemon and tea spoon of honey. References Strohle, A., Hahn, A. 2009. Vitamin C and immune function. Med Monastsschr Pharm. Feb; 32(2):49-54. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19263912 Douglas RM, Hemilä H, Chalker E, Treacy B. Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jul 18;(3):CD000980. Review. Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;1:CD000980  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17636648 Heydarian F, Behmanesh F, Daluee M, Kianifar H, Hematian M. The role of zinc sulfate in acute bronchiolitis in patients aged 2 to 23 months. Iran J Pediatr. 2011;21(2):231-4.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3446156/ Singh M, Das RR. Zinc for the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Jun 18;(6):CD001364.  Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(4):CD001364    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23775705  

  • Sleep is good for your arteries

    For a while there has been an assumed link between poor sleep and heart disease but it was not understood.  Now fresh evidence suggests that sleep regulates a mechanism that can help to protect arteries from hardening.  Which reinforces the notion that good quality sleep is important for cardiovascular health. Researches studied the development of atherosclerosis - the process through which plaques or fatty deposits build up inside arteries causing them to narrow and stiffen.  They discovered sleep disturbed mice:

    • Developed larger plaques in their arteries than mice that slept well.
    • Had higher amounts of circulating, inflammatory cells.
    • Produced lower amounts of hypocretin - a brain hormone that controls wakefulness.
    Researchers also saw a reduction in atherosclerosis and inflammatory cells in these mice after they recieved hyocretin supplementation. Subject to confirmation in humans, the findings demonstratet that sleep influences cardiovascular health by regulating hypocretin production in the brain. Reference https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00393-6  

  • Smell the wellness

    I had always assumed that its just tradition that you buy flowers for somebody that is ill.  Speaking as a woman who loves flowers, its always nice to receive flowers but I had underestimated their power. Research completed by the American Society of Horticulture Science discovered that surgical patients exposed to flowers or plants in their recovery rooms have

    • lower blood pressure
    • lower heart rates
    • less pain
    • less anxiety
    • less fatigue
    When compared to patients who whose rooms have no foliage, flowers or plants.   In fact, patients who had plants in their room even reported more positive feelings and satisfaction about their rooms than those without plants. So clearly there is a lot of wisdom in the tradition of buying flowers for people when they are ill. Reference https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/18/4/article-p563.xml