People with prediabetes who take vitamin D have a slightly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to one study. Researchers suspect that vitamin D may support healthy blood sugar management and lower risk of insulin resistance.Experts explain how you may want to incorporate these findings into your own healthy habits.<\/p>\n
If you have prediabetes<\/a>, your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, healthy levels, but not quite at the threshold for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Still, if you don’t make changes to your diet and lifestyle, type 2 diabetes could be around the corner. The good news is there are plenty of simple steps you can take to avoid diabetes. One study even suggests that vitamin D lowers blood sugar in prediabetes. <\/p>\n The connection between vitamin D<\/a> and blood sugar management seems random, but doctors say there is something to this. Per the National Institutes of Health<\/a> (NIH), vitamin D plays many roles in the body, including improving calcium absorption and bone health, reducing inflammation, supporting immune function and\u2014yes\u2014blood sugar metabolism. But experts warn this does not mean you should forego a regimen or treatment recommended by your doctor in favor of a supplement. Here\u2019s what the research found, and what it may mean. Meet the experts: Sylvia Christakos, Ph.D<\/a>., is a vitamin D researcher and professor of microbiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; Jessica Cording, R.D.<\/a>, author of The Little Book of Game Changers; David Cutler, M.D.,<\/a> is a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA; Ankit Shah, M.D<\/a>., assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition at Rutgers \u2013 Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Anastassios Pittas, M.D.<\/a>, is a study co-author and a professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine<\/p>\n The study, published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society<\/a>, analyzed data from 10 clinical trials involving nearly 4,500 people with prediabetes. The researchers discovered that 18.5% of study participants who took vitamin D reached normal blood sugar levels, compared to 14% who took a placebo. In all of the trials, the data showed that people with prediabetes who took vitamin D were more likely to develop normal blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n So, could vitamin D help with blood sugar management? That\u2019s still being explored, although this isn\u2019t the first time vitamin D has been linked with managing diabetes. A scientific analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine<\/a> in 2023 analyzed three clinical trials that studied the impact of vitamin D supplementation on people with prediabetes. During a three-year follow-up, the researchers discovered that 22.7% of participants who took vitamin D developed type 2 diabetes, compared to 25% of those who took a placebo.<\/p>\n The differences aren\u2019t massive\u2014meaning, taking a vitamin D supplement isn\u2019t a guarantee that you\u2019ll avoid developing type 2 diabetes\u2014but many experts agree that there does seem to be something here. <\/p>\n One theory behind this link is that vitamin D impacts glycemic control, which is your body\u2019s ability to manage your blood sugar, said Jessica Cording, R.D.<\/a>, author of The Little Book of Game Changers. \u201cVitamin D is actually a hormone,\u201d Cording pointed out. Having healthy levels of vitamin D may in theory help regulate other hormones in the body, helping to support the function of your endocrine system. (Type 2 diabetes impacts the endocrine system, which regulates glucose levels in the blood, Cording explained.) <\/p>\n Vitamin D is also linked<\/a> to a lower risk of insulin resistance<\/a>, which is when the body is unable to respond to or use the hormone insulin. Insulin helps to escort sugar to your cells, where it\u2019s used for energy. Insulin resistance is often seen as a part of prediabetes and a precursor for type 2 diabetes. <\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, vitamin D may have an anti-inflammatory effect, and inflammation is a known risk factor for developing diabetes,\u201d said Ankit Shah, M.D<\/a>., assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.<\/p>\n But there are still a lot of unknowns here. \u201cThe mechanisms involved in potential helpful effects of vitamin D in lowering the risk for type 2 diabetes at this time have not been well defined,\u201d said Sylvia Christakos, Ph.D<\/a>., a vitamin D researcher and professor of microbiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. However, she pointed out that data<\/a> suggests that people with low vitamin D levels also seem to have impaired pancreatic beta cell function and insulin resistance. Both of those are linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. <\/p>\n It\u2019s also entirely possible that there\u2019s nothing to this link, said David Cutler, M.D.,<\/a> a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to find studies that show associations,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to accept that many studies that were done showed no association and never came to light.\u201d<\/p>\n Should I take vitamin D to help manage blood sugar?<\/p>\n As of right now, there\u2019s no official recommendation on using vitamin D to manage blood sugar in people with prediabetes. However, Christakos recommended having your vitamin D levels tested if you\u2019re at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you\u2019re low, your doctor may recommend that you take a vitamin D supplement<\/a> to support several areas of your health, not just your blood sugar. <\/p>\n Dr. Shah agreed. \u201cWhile vitamin D deficiency and diabetes are two separate issues that have different treatment strategies, there might be a benefit such that treating one issue may have positive spillover effects on the other,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n If your doctor says you could benefit from taking a vitamin D supplement, it\u2019s important to have the right expectations for what this could do for you, said Anastassios Pittas, M.D.<\/a>, study co-author and a professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cVitamin D should be viewed as part of an overall diabetes prevention plan, not a stand-alone solution,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the vitamin D and diabetes prevention trials, participants took an average of about 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily. That dose would be a good starting point.\u201d He said some people may need a bit less or more, depending on their lifestyle and weight. However, it is possible to overdo it on vitamin D. \u201cTaking too much vitamin D can lead to vitamin D toxicity,\u201d said Cording. That can cause your body to absorb too much calcium, raising your risk of kidney stones and constipation. In extreme cases, it may even lead to heart rhythm issues, kidney failure, and death, per the NIH<\/a>. That’s why it\u2019s important to consult your doctor before adding a supplement to your routine. <\/p>\n Other ways to lower type 2 diabetes risk <\/p>\n Dr. Shah stressed that you\u2019re not doomed to develop type 2 diabetes if you\u2019ve been diagnosed with prediabetes. \u201cHaving prediabetes puts you at risk for developing overt type 2 diabetes, but it does not have to be a foregone conclusion,\u201d he said. \u201cOne can prevent, or at least delay, this progression by employing multiple well-known strategies.\u201d <\/p>\n That means focusing on eating a low-glycemic diet, doing your best to manage your weight (as this may impact insulin resistance), and exercising regularly, Dr. Cutler said. \u201cThese are all proven to both prevent type 2 diabetes and help with blood sugar control,\u201d he added. Dr. Shah also recommended trying to reduce your stress levels and aiming to get at least seven hours of sleep a night. <\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s important to have a conversation with your healthcare provider if you\u2019ve been diagnosed with prediabetes. They should be able to give you personalized guidance on next steps.<\/p>\n Dietary supplements are products intended to supplement the diet. They are not medicines and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure diseases. Be cautious about taking dietary supplements if you are pregnant or nursing. Also, be careful about giving supplements to a child, unless recommended by their healthcare provider.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People with prediabetes who take vitamin D have a slightly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[211609,211610,7789,211608,874,97,873,211607],"class_list":{"0":"post-451101","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-collection-conditions-and-diagnoses","9":"tag-collection-diabetes","10":"tag-content-type-news-explainer","11":"tag-contentid-806cf572-f5a0-4e3a-aa91-5f0f2d233806","12":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-locale-us","15":"tag-shorttitle-study-this-vitamin-may-lower-blood-sugar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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