Blood sugar problems, which often lead to diabetes, afflict millions of Americans. Being overweight increases your risk, but a particular nutrient deficiency is even more dangerous.
A study in Spain shows that lacking vitamin D expands your chances of developing diabetes even more than being drastically overweight.
In addition, research shows, when you are low in vitamin D you are also more likely to be obese.
Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient that is necessary to help the body take in calcium and keep your bones and muscles strong. Today, worldwide, experts estimate that more than 1 billion people are vitamin D deficient. A big reason: Hardly any of us get enough sunshine to enable the skin to manufacture sufficient vitamin D.
The study in Spain looked at the health and blood sugar issues of a variety of people some of whom had diabetes, others who had prediabetes and a third group that was healthy. The research included people whose weight ranged from normal to obese. To determine their vitamin D status, the researchers analyzed the amount of vitamin D in the participants’ blood and examined gene expression of vitamin D receptors in their body fat.
The tests showed that people who were obese but did not have blood sugar issues had higher amounts of vitamin D in their bodies than people who had diabetes.
People who were normal weight and had diabetes or another blood sugar issue were more likely to be lacking in vitamin D. In the study, the less people had of vitamin D in their bodies, the higher their blood sugar climbed.
“Our findings indicate that vitamin D is associated more closely with glucose metabolism than obesity,” says researcher Manuel Macías-González. “The study suggests that vitamin D deficiency and obesity interact synergistically to heighten the risk of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. The average person may be able to reduce their risk by maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough outdoor activity.”
