"Mandala Sun", by Jeannie Collins Beaudin
I love it when I see research that shows us how we can prevent a disease—especially an all-too-common one like diabetes. I just read this week that vitamin D is now thought to help decrease the chance that a person with pre-diabetes will progress to full diabetes. We’re always better off when we prevent illness, rather than have to treat it after it develops, so I thought I’d tell you about it!
So, this study is good news! People with diabetes are at higher risk of many conditions, like cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), kidney disease, vision loss, foot problems (diabetes is the greatest cause of amputations in adults), and more. It’s not a disease you want to develop. Being diagnosed with pre-diabetes is a time to pay attention and make some real changes in your lifestyle.
Diabetes is a lifestyle disease
Diabetes is closely related to our lifestyle… your food choices, how much you exercise, heavy alcohol use, and carrying extra pounds increase your risk, along with factors you can’t control, like your family history, having had temporary diabetes during pregnancy, and just getting older. Smoking, excessive uncontrolled stress, poor sleep, and uncontrolled blood pressure can worsen potential complications if you do progress to full diabetes.
The study I read found that taking a daily vitamin D supplement of 1000 units or more reduced the chance of developing full Type 2 diabetes (the type that most commonly begins in adulthood, although increasingly it's being seen in teenagers, sadly). Although Vitamin D didn’t appear to make a difference for those with average risk of diabetes, or those who were obese, it could be a good strategy to ask your doctor about if you’ve been told you are “insulin resistant” (meaning you need more insulin to handle the sugars in your diet), or that you have “pre-diabetes”.
The researchers couldn’t say for sure why vitamin D supplements didn’t make a difference in those who were very overweight but I have a theory that comes from my many years of studying hormones (vitamin D is considered a hormone, by the way). Like all hormones, vitamin D is fat-soluble so the body will store it in fatty tissues. Our vitamin D supplements are actually made from fish liver oils, because fish store their vitamin D in fats in the liver too. So, those with more fatty tissue will store away more of the vitamin D they ingest, leaving less to have an effect on the body. Remember, this is just my theory, yet to be demonstrated in research, but it holds true for other hormones. I don’t know about you, but I always like to understand the reason something happens…
Of course, vitamin D supplementation is just an additional strategy you can consider for a healthier future. A diagnosis of pre-diabetes is a signal to improve your diet (seeing a dietician can help) and to get more exercise (even a 30 minute walk every day can make a difference). Change is difficult, but remember that one small change each week can make a difference to your future. The good news is that pre-diabetes can be reversed in many people with just lifestyle changes... and now we know vitamin D can help too.
The Sunshine Vitamin
You may remember from my earlier blog, Is Your Body Dying for Vitamin D?, that vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin. Our bodies make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunshine, as much as 10,000 to 20,000 units in 30 minutes of sun. A session of 5 to 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a week, depending on weather conditions and skin type, is considered enough to supply a person with sufficient vitamin D during the summer. So, with summer coming up, at least here in the northern hemisphere, we just need to get outside for a short while before putting on sunscreen, which could block exposure to the vitamin producing rays of the sun.
During the winter months, depending on how close you live to the equator, it may be a good idea to supplement. Here in Canada, they recommend taking a vitamin D supplement from October until April, as the sun’s rays are not strong enough to help us produce enough of our own (plus we usually have lots of layers of clothing on when outside to keep warm, blocking the sun from reaching the skin!!).
Having enough vitamin D also helps the immune system to function, making it a factor in preventing and recovering from infections (including COVID-19), as well as reducing inflammation, aiding absorption of calcium from our diet (and thereby helping to reduce risk of osteoporosis), and reducing how much we feel chronic pain.
So, for all these reasons, get outside and enjoy those sunny days, and mark your calendar with a reminder to start an inexpensive vitamin D supplement this fall, available at any pharmacy!
References and More Reading:
Preventing type 2 diabetes with the “sunshine” vitamin?—McMaster Optimal Aging Portal
Vitamin D supplementation of 1000 IU or more per day may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in patients with prediabetes—McMaster Evidence Summary
Could Sunshine Be Good for You?—Jeannie Beaudin’s Blog
Sunshine, Viatmin D, and COVID-19…What’s the Connection?—Jeannie Beaudin’s Blog
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