Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : August 13, 2018 7:46 PM IST
The Recommended Daily Intake of Vitamin D is 600 IU every day from foods. Here’s how you can fulfil your needs © Shutterstock
Till date, we have associated vitamin D with bone health and a lack of it with deteriorating bone density and strength. But some studies suggest that bone health is not the only reason why our body needs vitamin D, it needs this vitamin to keep our blood sugar in control, too. Vitamin D which is usually referred to as a sunshine vitamin is created in our skin in response to direct sunlight and is essential for calcium absorption, cell growth, muscle function, fighting infection and reduce inflammation. This ability to reduce inflammation is what makes vitamin D the chosen vitamin to reduce the risk of diabetes.
Diabetes and Vitamin D
In a condition like diabetes where the blood sugar levels rise beyond normal range little do we know that diabetes also leads to inflammation, it is a response to the high blood sugar levels that make the body and the vital organs inflamed. However, the reverse is also true. In the study published in the journal Cell, researchers said that diabetes is a disease of inflammation and identified vitamin D receptor as an important modulator of both inflammation and beta cell survival. In type 1 diabetes the beta cells that secrete insulin are either damaged or dead. Vitamin D, however, can play a role is beta cells survival and bring in some improvement.
People suffering from type 2 diabetes can also benefit from vitamin D supplementation. According to the American Diabetes Association, the higher the level of vitamin D in the blood lower is the risk of type 2 diabetes. A three-year study involving 2,039 people with high blood sugar levels showed that for every 5 ng/mL increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of developing diabetes dropped by 8%.
Why Vitamin D is an important modulator of diabetes
If you are suffering from type 1 diabetes there is less you can do other than depending on artificial insulin that you need for glucose dissemination. However, since the beta cells in type 1 diabetes are damaged so vitamin D can help in revival of the same. Researches have shown that a particular compound called iBRD9 boosted the activity of vitamin D receptors when they were bound to vitamin D molecules. This had a protective effect on the beta cells.
The liver is the main producer of biologically active vitamin D; it converts the inert form into an active form called 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D). Studies say that the level of 25(OH)D in the blood, which is known as serum concentration, is considered the best indicator of vitamin D status. It further says that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in people with 25(OH)D blood levels lower than 30 nanograms per millilitre was five times that of those whose levels were higher than 50 nanograms per millilitre.
This shows that having adequate vitamin D either through sunlight or diet can help one reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also help to improve insulin production in type 1 diabetes.
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