Posted on 10/27/2009 9:16:38 AM PDT by neverdem
Supplements of the sunshine vitamin may improve insulin resistance and sensitivity, both of which are risk factors for diabetes, says a new study from New Zealand.
Insulin resistance, whereby insufficient insulin is released to produce a normal glucose response from fat, muscle and liver cells, was significantly lower in women following high-dose vitamin D supplementation, according to results of a randomised, controlled, double-blind trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The optimal effects were observed when blood vitamin D levels were in the range 80 to 119 nanomoles per litre, said the researchers, “providing further evidence for an increase in the recommended adequate levels”.
D for diabetes
This is not the first time that vitamin D has been linked to diabetes. A recent meta-analysis of data from observational studies and clinical trials in adults showed a "relatively consistent association" between low intakes of calcium, vitamin D, or dairy intake and type-2 diabetes (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol. 92, pp. 2017-2029).
The new study involved 81 South Asian women with insulin resistance living in New Zealand. The subjects, aged between 23 and 68, were randomly assigned to receive either 100 micrograms (4,000 IU) of vitamin D3 or placebo daily for six months.
At the end of the test period, women in the vitamin D group experienced “significant improvements” in both insulin sensitivity and resistance, said the researchers, which was also accompanied a decrease in fasting insulin levels, compared to placebo.
The greatest improvement in insulin resistance was observed when blood levels of vitamin D, measured as 25- hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) – the non-active 'storage' form of the vitamin – were at least 80 nanomoles per litre.
“Improving vitamin D status in insulin resistant women resulted in improved IR and sensitivity, but no change in insulin secretion,” wrote the women. “Optimal vitamin D concentrations for reducing IR were shown to be 80 to 119 nmol/l, providing further evidence for an increase in the recommended adequate levels,” they concluded.
Shedding light on the sunshine vitamin
Vitamin D refers to two biologically inactive precursors - D3, also known as cholecalciferol, and D2, also known as ergocalciferol. The former, produced in the skin on exposure to UVB radiation (290 to 320 nm), is said to be more bioactive.
Both D3 and D2 precursors are hydroxylated in the liver and kidneys to form 25- hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the non-active 'storage' form, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), the biologically active form that is tightly controlled by the body.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1017/S0007114509992017
“Vitamin D supplementation reduces insulin resistance in South Asian women living in New Zealand who are insulin resistant and vitamin D deficient – a randomised, placebo-controlled trial” Authors: P.R. von Hurst, W. Stonehouse, J. Coad
I remember 10 years ago someone mentioned that Vitamin D was the most effective Vitamin...and that we do one thing that causes more cancer and disease than anything....
...Wearing sunscreen.
Sunscreen blocks the absorption of Vit D....Vit D has been so reduced in our bodies from using sunscreen (and also, skin cancer has grown exponentially, too)
We are finding more and more, Vitamin D is so important
bump
I worry more about that crapola on my skin the the sun shining on it.
Most people also work indoors which makes it harder to get Vitamin D from the sun.
I call crap on this. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes earlier this year. I eat more cheese and drink more milk than any 2 other people, plus I take daily supplements.
Cool, i take a Vitamin-D supplement daily because I work in an office with no windows.
I saw a 2 hour lecture about a week ago on Dish Network's Universityhouse channel done by a UCLA Phd on this very topic. Not trying to be a wise ass or anything, but what sunscreen does is block UVb penetration into your skin. UVb reacts with a layer in your skin which causes your body to produce Vitamin D. People with a lot of melanin in their skin, i.e., dark skinned people, have trouble with being vitamin D deficient, especially at higher latitudes, and especially in the winter. If you have a lot of melanin in your skin it acts as a natural filter to UVb. The professor who was doing the lecture said you only really get good D3 production between the hours of 11:00AM and about 2:00PM and you have to have 50% of your body uncovered and in direct sunlight for at least 20 minutes to reach the blood serum levels needed to fight off various diseases. This lecturer was talking citing six different studies which showed from 50%-75% reductions in several types of cancer, MS, influenza infection, and type 1 diabetes. I'll tell ya, after watching the case this lady made I went out and bought some D3 and started taking it daily.....
Maye it's more helpful in women?
Or just Asian women?
Maybe it has been helpful to you, and if you had not had a higher level of D in your diet you would have developed diabetes sooner?
Perhaps it's an ‘all else being equal’ for people who are insulin resistant, vitamin D is helpful.
Just speculatin’.
The lecture I saw last week mentioned Vitamin D being beneficial for Type 1 diabetes. They didn't say anything about Type 2.
What really caught my eye was all six different studies this lecturer cited showed similar reductions (50%-75%!) in the rates of certain cancers and MS. Apparently, the current gubmint RDA for Vitamin D is way off the mark on the low side.
Please check the details.
The dosage noted is far in excess of what can be received from diet. The source of Vitamin D is not diet,it is manufactured by the skin as a result of exposure to the sun.
Recent study reveals that the vitamin D added to milk is barely adequate to prevent rickets in children. Vitamin supplements also contain lower levels than the 4000 units in the study.
Mary ping
There is far more to it than this study.
Check out this thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1929828/posts
There are links that can be followed to several big time benefits.
If you are interested, there are several other good studies that offer a host of other benefits from >2000 units per day. They can be googled
Smart alec!
Seriously, interesting.
Did they check your level of Vit D?
http://www.endocrinemetabolic.com/about/jjp.html
Dr. Joe Prendergast was a senior advisor to a start-up company I was with. He is an endocrinologist in Palo Alto, CA. He has been a pioneer in diabetes treatment, to include being persecuted by the medical community in California for teaching his patients to self monitor blood and then self inject insulin back in the 1960's.
He often has his patients take 50,000 UI (yes, 50k) of Vitamin D per day for 90 days. The chief objection to this is the worry of Vitamin D poisoning. Dr Joe cites studies that most people need to take this level before the body reaches saturation and is the necessary saturation uptake period that is well before toxicity levels.
If you visit his website, you can find a wealth of information there, as well as his weekly web program.
I was not a patient of his, but I believe some disclosure is warranted. I had been on prednisone for a long period of time and put on enough weight that I was worried about developing diabetes. His recommendation of an l-arginine supplement and the vitamin D suggestion helped my blood pressure and seemed to change my metabolism to allow me to loose weight like never before.
I was successful, but please check with your doctor before following anecdotal advice like mine.
AAAK! Just choked down two of those big boys, and dread doing the same again this evening. But it’s worth it.
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