Vitamin D. What an amazing vitamin.
Well known for its bone-building abilities, vitamin D’s job in the body is larger than anyone (until recently) could have ever guessed. A mountain of research in the last decade has shown that vitamin D plays an important role in many bodily systems, from muscle function to cancer prevention.
Unfortunately, an equally large body of literature says that we aren’t getting enough of this crucial nutrient. As Vitamin D expert Michael Holick MD, PhD of Boston University states: “Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as an epidemic in the United States”.
Could a deficiency of vitamin D be contributing to the surging rates of type 2 diabetes worldwide?
I recently came across a review paper that set out to answer that question.
A recent paper in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reviewed a number of already published studies (called a meta-analysis) to see how Vitamin D may help prevent or treat type 2 diabetes (abbreviated Type 2 DM) .
Here’s what they found:
“There appears to be a relationship between insufficient
vitamin D…and type 2 DM”
How?
-Helping Beta Cells Work Better:Beta cells are cells in your body that make insulin. It is now known that type 2 diabetes occurs not when there is insulin resistance, but when these cells cannot keep up and “burn out”. They found that vitamin D may help beta cells make insulin more effectively.
-Reducing Inflammation: Inflammation is known to play a crucial role in insulin resistance and decreased insulin production. Vitamin D deficiency and the death of beta cells has been strongly linked to increased inflammation.
-Insulin Resistance: Vitamin D may even help your cells become more sensitive to insulin directly by increasing the amount of insulin your cells can bring in.
Although having a healthy body weight, eating a well balanced diet, and being physically active are all important in preventing and treating diabetes, vitamin D may be a helpful addition in the hard fight against diabetes.
I look forward to hearing your experience with vitamin D in general, or related to diabetes.
The full article can be found here: Full Text Article
Brian
Thanks for the great article on Vitamin D and diabetes. Last year I posted an article on the various properties of Vitamin D and its effect on mood and immune function. Readers can find the article at http://www.metabolism.com/2007/02/28/the-vitamin-d-story-an-old-dog-with-some-new-tricks/ .
In my medical practice I am checking more people for vitamin D deficiency (usually as part of the evaluation for osteoporosis) and continue to be suprised at just how common vitamin D deficiency is. Even in sunny Florida many people simply don’t get enough of this vital vitamin.
I look forward to reading more of your informative articles.
Thanks
Gary Pepper, M.D.
I have type 2 DM and was wondering what suppliments I should be taking to help in my fight to lose weight…taking insulin(160 units daily) it is very hard to lose weight.I am 5’4″ and 260lbs….PLEASE HELP.
I have a sister, 65 y/o, who was told she had Vit D very low, therefore taking her Calcium is not helping her therapeutically. She has been on Vit D by injection qD subcutaneously for a whole year. The follow up showed that the Vit D did not elevate at all. She is obese, +/- 180 lbs., large abdomen as our paternal grandmother who died of a heart attack due to her diabetes. My sister does not have or has not been diagnosed with Diabetes T2 but, has been told that not losing weight… will soon develop DM. She has lost weight to near 130 twice and regained the weight in less than a years time. The last time, she was not allowed to go walking, due to her osteoporosis, which she did not know she had before then because the tests were never done for bone density.
My question is, why and what do you do for persons whose D3 will not elevate to a normal level?