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:
- One study involving nearly 5,680 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance showed that vitamin D supplementation increased insulin sensitivity by 54 percent (see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9516221?dopt=Abstract)
- The mechanisms by which vitamin D reduces insulin resistance include its effect on calcium and phosphorus metabolism and by up regulating the insulin receptor gene (see >> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cbf.951/abstract)
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
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