Vitamin D supplements may keep diabetes at bay, study suggests. In a meta-analysis of 17 studies, researchers at Tufts University found that pre-diabetics could reduce the likelihood of developing this potentially disabling condition by 15 percent.
Vitamin D, which is absorbed by the skin through the sun, is known to increase a person’s glucose tolerance and blood sensitivity to insulin.
Officials estimate that 100 million people in the US and UK have pre-diabetes – a person with unhealthy blood sugar levels but not high enough to be considered diabetic.
Vitamin D has many uses in the body, and not getting enough vitamin D each day has been linked to brittle bones, a bad mood, and numb fingers.
In a review published Monday in the American College of Physicians Journal, researchers at the Boston-area school found that vitamin D supplements could help stave off diabetes.
They looked at two other meta-analyses, which in turn included 17 studies in them. A total of 38,780 participants were included in all studies. Within this group, 4,190 were pre-diabetic.
The studies in question looked at the use of vitamin D in the prevention of other injuries and diseases, such as bone fractures
Each of them also included information about the patients’ blood glucose as ancillary data, and the Tufts team collected it for their major study.
They found that pre-diabetics who used a vitamin D supplement were 15 percent less likely to develop diabetes over the next four years.
Weight-related conditions such as obesity, diabetes and pre-diabetes have reached crisis levels in the US
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 70 percent of Americans are overweight and 40 percent are obese. Being overweight is one of the main risk factors for type 2 diabetes and a host of other serious medical conditions.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when a person’s body either does not produce enough insulin or their blood becomes resistant to insulin due to persistently high blood sugar.
Unlike type 1 diabetes, a person cannot be born with this condition. In most cases, type 2 diabetes is caused by poor diet and exercise.
The CDC reports that 40 million Americans have diabetes, and more than 90 percent of them have type 2 diabetes. While diabetes is not curable, some people with high blood sugar can still turn things around.
Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person has high blood sugar, but not so high that it can be classified as diabetes.
An estimated 90 million Americans are pre-diabetic, according to the CDC. British officials report 7 million pre-diabetics overseas. Although many of these people will develop diabetes, they still have time to reverse the course.
Diet and exercise are the usual advice doctors give to prevent the next stage, but scientists believe they have found a new tool to prevent the disease.
Experts have long suspected that vitamin D could be a treatment to prevent diabetes
The “sunshine vitamin” is most often associated with bone health because the body needs it to process calcium and build a strong skeleton.
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in the body’s process of releasing insulin, which processes blood sugar and allows it to be used for energy.
Calcium also helps stimulate insulin production in the body, which can also help fight diabetes. Because vitamin D is primarily absorbed through exposure to the sun, it follows that a person who spends more time outdoors is more likely to have balanced blood sugar.
While the sun is an excellent source of vitamin D, getting enough sun every day can be difficult for most people who spend 40 or more hours a week working indoors.
Vitamin D deficiency is known to be a problem in winter when people spend even more time indoors and dress heavily when going outside. This is when supplements can help.
Experts warn that vitamin D supplements come with some drawbacks, however.
Taking too much vitamin D can lead to the formation of calcium deposits in the body, affecting the function of organs such as the heart and kidneys.
source www.dailymail.co.uk
This post was last modified on 8 februarie 2023 10:05
