Vitamin D and Diabetes View Comments
Studies show that there is some kind of connection between Vitamin D and diabetes. Even though, scientists still don’t know what exactly it is. Type 1 diabetes is a condition that usually starts in infancy and it’s possible that Vitamin D deficiency may play an important factor in it.
The high levels of sugar in the bloodstream are what define the health condition called diabetes. It presents itself in two ways: type 1 and type 2. Ninety percent of the diabetics are included in type 2 and they mostly adults. In the case of type 2 diabetes, either the insulin is too high or it’s not working properly, causing the blood sugar to rise.
Type 1 diabetes happens because of inadequate levels of insulin. It usually starts in childhood or the teen years. Doctors agree that type 1 diabetes develops when the beta-cells, the pancreatic cells that responsible for producing insulin, are destroyed. This destruction occurs because of some kind of immune system dysfunction. Therefore, type 1 diabetes may be considered to be an autoimmune disease.
Researchers did some epidemiological studies to see the relationship between Vitamin D supplementation in infancy (up to 1 year of age) and the future risk of developing type 1 diabetes. They found that supplementing with Vitamin D was associated with 29% less risk of developing this disease.
Those epidemiological studies cannot prove that Vitamin D is actually protecting against type 1 diabetes. However, the researchers see a strong relationship between the high levels of Vitamin D and the lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
Other researches support the evidence that individuals who were diagnosed as having type 1 diabetes also showed low levels of Vitamin D. It’s also true that there’s more incidence of type 1 diabetes in countries that are colder, in other words, there’s not enough production of Vitamin D in the skin.
There are Vitamin D receptors on both the beta-cells in the pancreas and some cells in the immune system. So, scientists believe that Vitamin D probably helps normalize the immune system, which in turn possibly decreases an overreaction on the beta-cells, protecting them from damage. Animal experiments suggest that this is true: Vitamin D is able to protect against type 1 diabetes while normalizing the immune system.
While other medical doctors are waiting for volunteers to conduct some randomized trials, i.e. the children would be treated with Vitamin D or placebo, it’s safe to say that there is a strong evidence that there’s a connection between Vitamin D and Diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is really a significant public medical condition, accounting for considerable precocious deaths. The growing incidence of this problem seems to be directly associated with overweight problems. However, during the last five years, a variety of substantial, observational research has indicated a strong connection between the onset of type 2 diabetes and Vitamin D insufficiency. Studies have shown that Vitamin D affects insulin activity beneficially, correcting processes in the body that might be significant in the development of type 2 diabetes. Despite the fact that there are data linking Vitamin D deficiency to type 2 diabetes, scientists still want to do additional investigation to make sure whether Vitamin D supplementation carries a role in the avoiding type 2 diabetes.
If you would like to listen to a 10-minute free interview with Dr Holick, a Vitamin D expert, please click here.
To your health!
Ligia Fleckenstein
