Vitamin D and Diabetes

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Studies have looked at vitamin D’s relationship to both types of diabetes, and lower concentrations of blood serum vitamin D have been noted with both types. Of particular note is vitamin D’s ability to lower, and therefore improve, insulin resistance, which is important for those with type 2 diabetes. A 2009 New Zealand study put forward that optimal blood serum levels for insulin sensitivity are between 80-119nmol/L48, which is much higher than the levels usually denoted as adequate.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg. With so many vitamin D receptors on so many cells throughout the body, and an involvement in the expression of over 200 genes, it can be no surprise that vitamin D is implicated in so many aspects of our health. We are learning more all the time, and the more we study the hormonal form of vitamin D, the more crucial it appears to be to our fundamental wellbeing.

Of course, the body doesn’t use vitamin D in isolation: its immediate co-factors include magnesium, zinc, boron, vitamin K2, the isoflavin genestein, and a small amount of vitamin A – vitamin D relies on these for its conversion and utilisation so it can perform its various tasks. In the bigger picture, vitamin D takes its part in the dance among all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, each of them key factors in a continual and kaleidoscopic cascade of events that keeps us healthy and alive. Of all these key nutrients, however, vitamin D may have been the most underestimated until now, so it’s a good time to ask: are you getting enough sunshine in your life?