Why People Living With Type 2 Diabetes Should Be Careful With Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an extremely essential organic molecule that is fat-soluble. It is predominantly needed to maintain immunity and bone health. In recent studies, it has been seen that a deficiency of vitamin D is strongly associated with an increase in risk of type 2 diabetes. Thus, there exists a close link between diabetes and vitamin D.

Role Of Vitamin D In The Human Body

The human body synthesises vitamin D through the ultraviolet-B rays emitted by the sun. Exposing your body for 15 to 20 minutes to sunlight is considered sufficient for the skin to produce adequate levels of vitamin D. That said, excessive exposure to sunlight can cause skin aging and even skin cancer.

Moreover, you can intake vitamin D through foods such as egg yolk, cheese, nuts, animal liver, saltwater fish, vitamin D fortified cereals and milk products.

Primarily, vitamin D ensures healthy bones, joints and teeth through the facilitation of absorption of calcium in the body. Further, it is needed for the adequate functioning of muscles, nerves and immune system.

Vitamin D deficiency (levels below 50 nmol/l) can lead to short-term problems such as bone and joint pain, impaired immunity, muscle weakness, as well as depression. In addition, prolonged deficiency of vitamin D is associated with far more serious complications, including type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Type 2 Diabetes And Vitamin D

There are several scientific studies as well as clinical trials claiming that vitamin D plays a key role in improving insulin sensitivity. Insulin is a hormone needed for maintaining proper blood sugar levels. It is also known that efficiently maintaining a vitamin D level of 80 nmol/l (or higher) is suitable for normal glucose homeostasis.

Some researchers believe that vitamin D may help to regulate insulin production in the pancreas. In addition, it is known that raising vitamin D levels in the body can help in keeping blood sugar levels under control, which is essential for those with diabetes.

The beneficial effects of vitamin D in those individuals with type 2 diabetes could be driven through multiple mechanisms. For example, studies have shown that pancreas contains receptors for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (the active vitamin D metabolite), which is needed for the secretion and synthesis of insulin by pancreatic beta cells.

Therefore, the question that arises is “is vitamin D good for diabetics?”

A majority of studies that show effective management of type 2 diabetes through vitamin D supplementation have also demonstrated that this vitamin helps in proper maintenance of glycemic status by reducing insulin resistance, which is the primary causative factor for diabetes. Thus, when it comes to questions such as “can diabetics take vitamin D?” the answer is always “Yes.”

These studies also recommend that a daily, vitamin D intake of more than 2000 IU is needed to maintain an optimum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in your blood: greater than 80 nmol/l. By maintaining this level, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes has been found to be the lowest. The level of 25(OH)D in the blood typically represents the vitamin’s status from both sunlight and dietary sources.

Studies involving elderly individuals (aged more than 70 years) have shown that a vitamin D level of less than 50 nmol/l is directly associated with a twofold increase in risk of developing type 2 diabetes. What’s more, an inverse correlation, too, exists between vitamin D and HbA1C levels, with the latter being a well-known marker for impaired metabolism of glucose.

There are additional secondary effects of vitamin D on management of diabetes. For instance, studies have demonstrated that effectively maintaining an optimum level of vitamin D on a long-term basis is associated with weight loss and a decrease in the risk of obesity, both of which are known to lower the risk of developing diabetes.

Vitamin D can reduce the risk of developing obesity in two primary ways. It can efficiently regulate appetite by increasing the level of leptin in the blood, which is needed to control fat storage and induce satiety. In addition, it can lower the level of the parathyroid hormone in the blood, which, in the long run, can trigger mechanisms for weight loss.

The Final Word:

There exist other possible explanations for the close association between diabetes and vitamin D deficiency. It is quite possible that individuals with adequate vitamin D levels are more likely to partake in outdoor physical activity, which would eventually decrease their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Reference Links:

1. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Vitamin-D-and-Type-2-Diabetes.aspx
2. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/vitamin-d.html#:~:text=Effects%20on%20diabetes,precursor%20to%20type%202%20diabetes