• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2026 Survey »

Higher vitamin D linked to lower diabetes risk

F

frenchkittie

Well-Known Member
Messages
96
Location
South West France
I don't know if this has been mentioned here before, but I just came across this study...

"Higher levels of vitamin D in the blood appear to be associated with a reduced risk of incident diabetes among people with high risk for the disease, according to a new report ... vitamin D may have a role in diabetes via improvements in insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity"

http://www.theheart.org/article/1245657.do
 
Vitamin D is good stuff. But I have read that:

Vitamin D (taken in excess) can cause pathological changes in the body. Signs of vitamin D toxicity include excessive calcification of bone, kidney stones, calcification of soft tissue, headaches, weakness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, polyuria, and polydipsia.
Click to expand...

Pretty frightening stuff. I think the recomended intake from the guys on that site was 200IU daily.

That is not a lot of Vit D.

BUT - the guys that say Vit D is good, say you can safely take up to 50,000IU daily (yes - 50,000IU). I have (in the past) taken either 10 or 20,000Iu daily. I can say that I feel much better after a couple of weeks on the Vit D.

But the scare stories ARE effective.
 
From what I can see the toxicity level of vitamin D is pretty high - I wouldn't be comfortable taking 50,000 iu for any sustained period, but the 'effective' level seems to be much lower - i.e. around 2,000 iu per day.

The blood test is, I guess, the most accurate way of getting an idea about deficiency or excess, but GPs seem to be pretty reluctant to do that due to the costs.

It seems to me that the recommended limit of 400 iu a day is too low though (looking at the study below for instance).

Here is another study about preventing Type 1 diabetes in infants who were supplemented with 2,000 iu a day (which I'm sure many people would balk at because of the worry that that is too much - but note in the study they said there were no ill effects at that level).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11705562

Vitamin D isn't a cure all but it seems to improve the odds; and so must be worth seriously considering.

If you do take it take D3 not the cheap and cheerful stuff you can get in chemists.

Dillinger
 
Dillingers right - Liquid/Gel Caps are the way to go.

Vit D is made in the body through exposure to sunshine. Just think how god you feel after a couple of weeks of sunshine.

You might feel that good after a couple of weeks of Vit D...
 
Vitamin D comes in a variety of forms; Vit D3 is the easiest to absorb and the most useful. In Britain we don't make enough in the winter 'cos of lack of sun, and as you get older you make less anyway.

It's worth doing some research - lots of info if you google Vitamin D, including research papers from peer-reviewed journals etc. Sorry, in too much of a hurry to look up my favourites for you - but if I found it, you can!

I take 5000iu during the winter and 2500iu a day in the summer; I get the capsules off ebay. I'm not dead yet! I also try to spend 10 minutes in the sun, arms and legs exposed, twice a day to get some naturally.

I believe there have been some cases of rickets recently, caused by covering up too much and too much high-factor sunscreen. DON'T get burned - little and often will do it! Maybe have 10 minutes before you put the sunscreen on?

Viv 8)
 
This is just my observation. I was diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency in December and was prescribed Calcichew D3 Forte twice a day. I also take 4000 IU Vitamin D in an oral spray (my choice). This has taken away the chronic fatigue and depression I had. I feel like a different person. Although I started taking Gliclazide 40 mg per day at the same time, I have found that my fasting BS range from 4.8 - 5.5 instead of 6.5 - 8.0 that I had before taking the Vitamin D and Gliclazide.

I think that the Vitamin D has helped me lower my bs levels. I spend a lot of time indoors and can see how I got deficient, I also used to suffer with IBS-D before I gave up wheat. I think it should be one of the tests done on the newly diagnosed as I think there is a connection.
 
http://www.naturalnews.com/033202_rickets_sun_exposure.html
Though Public Health Wales does not track and analyze rickets statistics among the population -- probably because the disease has been thought to be largely extinct
"You get women living in certain communities that perhaps don't go out much because of religious, cultural traditions. They're covered up when they do. They don't get enough access to sunlight. So they have a vitamin D deficiency."
And darker-skinned people who may not wear as much sunscreen are also not as receptive to those same UVB rays, which means they must spend more time in the sun than lighter skinned people..."
 
I am sure that my DN once told me I would have to have a test some time soon re my vit D coz metformin impairs the liver's ability to process it... does not matter if you take vit supplements because it is not being metabolized properly!
 
Cowboyjim said:

. . . a test some time soon re my vit D coz metformin impairs the liver's ability to process it...
Click to expand...

Are you sure she didn't say Vitamin B? because your comment is certainly true of the Vit B complex - it was one of the first tests they gave me on diagnosis, and I expect they'll repeat it at my annual review tests.

Viv 8)
 
Thanks Viv... well,it could be my having misheard her... my memory... but a tiny glimmer in the back of my brain suggests the inevitable, she got it wrong... she was after all, the one that admitted to having left my bloods out on her desk overnight, and still sent them to the lab. 8)
Will look it up but I somehow doubt Vit B has owt to do with solar activity!
 
No, it wasn't the solar activity I was querying :lol: - but metformin does interfere with the liver's production/use/whatever of Vit B12. I've never heard of it doing anything to Vit D, which is manufactured using the cholesterol in the fat under the skin - I think!

Viv 8)
 
Indeed, as I understood it met acts on the liver so logically it could also enhance or impair that organ's other functions too. An unfortunate side-effect but she said it was OK provided they kept an eye on it. There was no mention of what remedy if any would be provided so I can only assume a switch to a non-met alternative would be in order.
That reminds me ever since I have been on this slower release met my toes don't hurt any more... they thought that was vit d deficiency but I had no other symptoms.. groping in the dark I reckon and it certainly wasn't neuropathy. 8)
 
Back
Top