Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome in Studies

HealthDay News via Yahoo! ^ | June 20, 2010 | NIH

[CutePuppy]

A pair of new studies has uncovered evidence that low levels of vitamin D could lead to poor blood sugar control among diabetics and increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome among seniors.

.....

More than 90 percent of the patients, who ranged in age from 36 to 89, had either vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, the authors found, despite the fact that they all had had routine primary care visits before their specialty visit.

Just about 6 percent of the patients were taking a vitamin D supplement at the time of their visit, the research team noted, and those who had lower vitamin D levels were also more likely to have higher average blood sugar levels.

"This finding supports an active role of vitamin D in the development of type 2 diabetes," study co-author Dr. Esther Krug, an assistant professor of medicine, said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.

"Since primary care providers diagnose and treat most patients with type 2 diabetes, screening and vitamin D supplementation as part of routine primary care may improve health outcomes of this highly prevalent condition," Krug added.

A second study involving nearly 1,300 white Dutch men and women over the age of 65 found almost half were vitamin D-deficient, while 37 percent had metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a grouping of health risk factors, including high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, abnormal cholesterol levels and high blood sugar.

"Because the metabolic syndrome increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, an adequate vitamin D level in the body might be important in the prevention of these diseases," .....

Regardless of gender, those with insufficient amounts of vitamin D in their blood were more likely to have the syndrome than those with sufficient amounts of vitamin D, Eekhoff and her colleagues found.

[matthew fuller]

This is an excellent website for nutritional/medical info:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

[Maelstorm]

I take extra Vitamin D and it definently makes a difference especially in my mood and I notice I maintain my weight easier. You can’t really overdose on it unlike Vitamin A which is fat soluable and can build up to toxic levels and cause higher blood pressure irritability and headaches. I’ve experienced it myself by accident when taking extra doses of Vit A.

I’ve tried a lot of things but Vit D is the one vitamin I would reccomend. Also if you are stressed, depressed, etc try it you can take double or triple the recommended dose safely. I take 4000ius of D3 twice a day.

Next two things I take are Alpha lipoic Acid 1000mg 3 times a day and Acetyl L-Carinitine 1000mg 3 times a day. I’ve not had a cold for more than a year and I heal faster and feel overall just better.

I also take a Calcium Magnesium Zinc combination sometimes but Im careful because while zinc can help your immune system too much will suppress it. None of this is magic or a cure all but the D, ALA, and ALCAR will make you feel much better if you take it regularly.
They are also inexpensive and safe.

I’d avoid multivitamins personally especially if you are taking them as a catch all. Take

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

I’m type 2 and my doctor told me not to drink milk and i’m not lactose int in fact i don’t think my doctor ever checked anything to do with my vity D ..

[kalee]

ping

[kalee]

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[wildbill]

I often wonder if these studies are funded by vitamin supplement companies.

Because I am 70 yo. and pre-diabetic I read the article and then went to google for info on Vitamin D.

First, best, and cheapest source of Vitamin D appears to be lying out in the sun naked for a couple of hours per week. It probably means that older people have to stay in the sun longer however since one study shows that absorbtion rates dwindle with age. Of course I may die from skin cancers.

Very few foods in nature contain vitamin D. The flesh of fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) and fish liver oils are among the best sources [4]. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks

I like and drink a lot of milk and almost all our milk is fortified with Vitamin D. —but I have to change from my average of a gallon per week to a gallon per day.

Or I can eat 3 oz. of fresh sockeye salmon every day which is unlikely on my budget.

Or I can take a tbs of cod liver oil daily.

Or I can reflect on a relatively long and fun life and say to hell with it, everything is a trade off, and I’m not going to ruin my remaining years by living in fear and trying to forestall the inevitable.

[9YearLurker]

I’ve never heard someone say that.

[9YearLurker]

How about just a vitamin D-3 supplement?

[Rannug]

Seriously, check out buttermilk. I forget what I read about it tho. :-)

[mad_as_he$$]

That is an oversimplification. I have chronic low Vit D. I spend hours a day outside and am anything but sedentary.

[bmwcyle]

ping

[mad_as_he$$]

ping

[Rannug]

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ekende/lactose.htm

If you like, stir in some salt and pepper before drinking.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“Take enough and take ‘D/3’. . .”

‘Enough’ is a minimum of 10,000 units a day. We do that. We use Bio-D Mulsion Forte from Biotics Research, which has 2,000 units per drop. 5 drops per day minimum for boosting Vit D health. In the wintertime here in Ohio we boost that to 10 drops per day - 20,000 units.

[Rannug]

You might want to try buttermilk. http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ekende/lactose.htm

I stir in a little salt and pepper. Love it.

[goodnesswins]

You should go read some of the stuff at the following website....you’ll probably ensure yourself a longer, healthier life with Vitamin D3 than anything else....

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

[GOPJ]

There are very obese, inactive people who never become diabetics; there are people like me with diabetes on both sides of the family and who was probably going to get it at some point, no matter what the activity level; there are average-sized active people who get it. I agree that some of the increase in diabetes is linked to the type and amount of food people eat and their general lifestyle, but you can’t point to every Type 2 diabetic and say ‘you did this to yourself’ just as not every case of cancer is due to a lack of vegetables in the diet. Sometimes it just happens.

Thoughtful comment - thanks.

[CutePuppy]

Or I can reflect on a relatively long and fun life and say to hell with it, everything is a trade off, and I’m not going to ruin my remaining years by living in fear and trying to forestall the inevitable.

That's a good general attitude. Life is a series of trade offs, Living in fear of "life" will take years off your life span, without any compensation for it.

That said, supplememts are easy source of vitamins (even if you think it's a placebo, it could be effective, with little potential for harm) and cod / fish liver oil, as well as salmon (and other oily fish such as varieties of tuna or sardines) are good sources of Vitamin D. Canned fish usually contains more vitamins and minerals than prepared for meal otherwise.

[chris_bdba]

You might try to google it I read about the studies in the last year and IIRC they were done out of Toronto. :)