According to a study published this week, consistent Vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes in millions of persons with prediabetes.
A team of Tufts Medical Center researchers discovered that taking vitamin supplements was connected with a 15% reduction in the risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes in people. On February 7, their work was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Vitamin D And Type 2 Diabetes Risk
The researchers extrapolated the findings to show that people who took vitamin D supplements had a 15% lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
According to the researchers, vitamin D pills could be a cheap strategy to prevent type 2 diabetes in more than 10 million people globally who have prediabetes. During the trial period:
- 475 persons, or nearly 22% of those in the vitamin D group, were diagnosed with diabetes for the first time.
- 524 persons in the placebo group, or nearly 25%, were diagnosed with diabetes for the first time.
When the researchers extrapolated their findings to account for the estimated 374 million adults worldwide with prediabetes, they concluded that vitamin D supplementation could be an inexpensive method to delay type 2 diabetes in more than 10 million people.
The researchers observed that a 15% reduction is less than other type 2 preventative strategies:
- Intensive lifestyle changes can reduce the risk by 58%Reliable Source
- Metformin can cut risk by 31%Reliable Source
The supplements were well accepted in general.
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Some Cautions
Because the study parameters excluded certain patients who could be at risk for kidney problems, the researchers did not investigate safety.
Children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, hospitalized patients, those with end-stage renal illness, and those with HIV were all excluded.
“Professional societies, which advise physicians about the benefits and harms of vitamin D therapy, have a duty of care to understand government advice,” wrote Dr. Malachi McKenna of St. Vincents University Hospital in Ireland and Mary A.T. Flynn, Ph.D. of Brown University in Rhode Island in an accompanying editorial.
Because the study included adults at high risk for type 2 diabetes, the findings cannot be applied to the general population.
After the trial, around 30% of the participants’ glucose levels reverted to pre-study levels. According to the National Institutes of Health, vitamin D is a substance that our bodies utilize in a variety of ways.
- Helps the body absorb calcium to maintain bone health and muscular health.
- Helps nerves deliver messages to the brain.
- Helps the immune system fight germs and viruses.
The amount of vitamin D recommended daily changes with age.
- Infants aged 0 to 12 months should receive 400 IU per day.
- Adults aged 71 and up should consume 800 IU each day.
- Everyone else is advised to take 600 IU per day.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that the body produces when UV radiation from the sun strikes the skin. It is also found in several foods and supplements.
Cod liver oil, salmon, swordfish, tuna fish, egg yolk, beef liver, and sardines are other food sources. Vitamin C is frequently “fortified” in orange juice, dairy products, and cereals.
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