Vitamin D Can Help Shield You From Diabetes

rnAnother health breakthrough to report in the vast arena of rnbreakthroughs that surrounds vitamin D. The "sunshine rnvitamin." A new study has found that not getting enough rnvitamin D can put you at greater risk for one of the biggest rnhealth problems of modern times: type 2 diabetes. This study occurred in children, but the results can be rnextrapolated for everyone. Looking at obese and non-obese rnchildren, researchers found that low vitamin-D levels were rnsignificantly more prevalent in obese children. And that rnthey were associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes. rnThe study appeared in the "Journal of Clinical rnEndocrinology & Metabolism." RECOMMENDED This Vitamin Could Beat the Flu High rates of vitamin-D deficiency have been found in rnobese populations and past studies have linked low rnvitamin-D levels to cardiovascular disease and type 2 rndiabetes. Those three health conditions -- obesity, type 2 rndiabetes and heart disease -- are certifiably linked. How obesity and diabetes is related to vitamin-D deficiency rnis not fully understood. This new study examined rnassociations between vitamin-D levels and dietary habits in rnobese children. They tested whether there were links rnbetween levels of the sunshine vitamin and abnormal blood rnsugar levels and/or blood pressure levels. In the study, obese children with lower vitamin-D levels rnhad the highest degree of insulin resistance. This is the rnhallmark of diabetes, meaning the body has an impaired rnability to move glucose from the blood into cells where it is rnused as energy. The study couldn't figure out why this is rnthe case, but did suggest that low vitamin-D levels play rnsome kind of role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Here's what happened: they measured vitamin-D levels, rnblood sugar levels, insulin, body mass index, and blood rnpressure in 411 obese subjects and 87 control non-rnoverweight subjects. Study participants were asked to rnprovide dietary information, including daily intake of soda, rnjuice and milk, average daily fruit and vegetable intake, and rnwhether or not they routinely skipped breakfast. Sure enough, they found that habits like skipping breakfast rnand drinking sugary soda and juice were linked with lower rnvitamin-D levels among the obese kids. Vitamin D is simply critical. If you can't spend 15 minutes rnof time in direct sunlight (without using sunscreen) each rnday, it is a very good idea to take a vitamin-D supplement rnin the range of 1,000 IU.