Scientists now believe that one vitamin may lower your risk of diabetes. It’s already known to be vital to your everyday health. It’s widely accepted that low levels of it contribute to many other diseases.
Now, the latest research shows it may play a big role in diabetes.
The news comes from Helmholtz Zentrum München, a well-known research institution in Germany. And the findings come from a study led by Dr. Wolfgang Koenig. He’s a professor of medicine at the University of Ulm and he’s published over 180 research papers in respected journals.
He was trying to find out about the relationship between the vitamin and diabetes risk. And he got his answer.
“(The) vitamin status is inversely related to type 2 diabetes risk,” says Dr. Koenig. “Our data suggest that this association may be partially mediated by inflammation.”
Other doctors agree with his results and they say it may be a major breakthrough.
“Deficiency is relatively widespread due to our modern way of life,” says Dr. Barbara Thorand. “A targeted improvement in the supply of (the) vitamin could reduce the risk of diabetes.”
Dr. Thorand is an epidemiologist in Germany. Her diabetes research has helped pave the way for new treatments.
Powerhouse Vitamin Tested on Over 1,500 People
This important vitamin can be generated inside your body. But you need plenty of sunlight to do that. That’s a pretty good giveaway as to what it is. That’s right…it’s vitamin D.
But before we talk more about vitamin D, let’s take a look at the study.
Dr. Koenig measured vitamin D levels in 416 patients with type 2 diabetes. He tested another 1,267 people from a previous study to expand his sample size.
He found that people with a good vitamin D supply had a lower diabetes risk. Those with low vitamin D levels had a higher risk.
“A significant inverse association was observed between serum (vitamin D) and incident type 2 diabetes,” he says.
Experts say the results could directly help to prevent the disease. They say vitamin D works because it has an anti-inflammatory effect.
And inflammation plays a big role in diabetes.
And inflammation plays a big role in diabetes.
But this isn’t the first link between vitamin D and diabetes.
A team of researchers at Warwick Medical School in the UK conducted a review study on the vitamin. They looked at 28 studies with nearly 100,000 participants.
What did they find?
People with high levels of vitamin D saw a 55 percent reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The 10 Minute Internal Generator
There’s a cheap and easy way to get more vitamin D. Simply go outside and get some sun. When sunlight hits your skin, your body starts to generate vitamin D.
Dr. Michael Holick is a medical professor at Boston University Medical Center. He’s a director of a vitamin D research laboratory. His peers consider him a top vitamin D expert and he continues to rack up industry awards.
He says it’s best to get 10-15 minutes of sun each day. You can stay out longer but you should avoid getting burned.
Without any sun exposure, he recommends 1,000 IUs of vitamin D3 daily. You can get it in capsule form and it’s available online or at health food stores. Some experts say to take even more…upwards of 4,000 to 10,000 IUs a day.
Dr. Holick says sunbathing can be equal to taking 20,000 IUs of vitamin D orally. That’s why sun exposure is your easiest bet.
You can get vitamin D in many foods. Fish like salmon and mackerel are good sources. If you eat salmon, make sure it’s wild-caught. A study from Boston University says it has the highest vitamin D content of any fish at 988 IUs for a 3.5 ounce serving.
Farmed salmon only provide 10 to 25 percent of the vitamin D you get from wild salmon. That’s because wild salmon get their vitamin D from the food chain and farmed salmon only feast on pelleted food.
Vitamin D can also be found in foods like nuts, seeds, oils and leafy vegetables. But the levels are much lower.
We’ll keep following the latest research on vitamin D. The results continue to show it’s one of the most important natural remedies for your health. Studies show it can combat over 20 different diseases and that number keeps growing.
To your best health,
Michael Jelinek,
Managing Editor, NHD “Health Watch”
