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MEDICAL RESEARCH: Vitamin D Deficiency is Associated with Insulin Resistance and ß cell Dysfunction

 

Editor’s note:

In the following medical research study, healthy participants were enrolled to examine the effects of vitamin D on insulin production and use in the body. This research shows that:

1) Vitamin D plays an important role in insulin sensitivity in the body, and deficiency of vitamin D hampers production of insulin hormone by beta cells in the pancreas.

2) People with vitamin D deficiency are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by lack of insulin sensitivity in body tissues and inadequate production of insulin hormone in the pancreas.

Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency in Celiac Disease

 

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin for strong bones and teeth, turns out to be a multi-tasker! Since its discovery in the early 1920s, this important fat-soluble vitamin was labeled simply as “the antirachitic vitamin” (prevents rickets). Not any more. A major discovery of how it functions as a hormone in the body when converted into its active form by the liver has spurred intense research which is revealing much more about this amazing vitamin.

We now know the active form of vitamin D is essential for the regulation of calcium and phosphorus balance in the body, the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from food in the digestive tract, proper neuromuscular function, normal growth and development and normal bone and tooth formation and maintenance. Recent medical research suggests vitamin D may also provide protection from hypertension, cancer, and several autoimmune diseases.