Just as we start to get a little bit of sunshine, new research out of Iran suggests that vitamin D may help people with Type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar levels, according to a recent article from Reuters (as reported by Diabetes Newshound). Skin needs sunlight to make Vitamin D, but evidence is building that adding vitamin D to diet can help with all forms of diabetes.
Researchers split 90 study participants into three groups of 30 people each. All participants were given yogurt drinks twice a day for 12 weeks. One group was given plain yogurt, while a second group was given yogurt with vitamin D and the third given yogurt with vitamin D and calcium. What they found was those that ate the yogurt with vitamin D fared much better than those fed regular yogurt. They saw a “relatively remarkable improvement” in their blood sugar numbers.
The group that was given the plain yogurt saw their sugars, on average, increase from 187 mg/dl to 203 mg/dl. In the other two groups with vitamin D, blood sugars dropped, on average, from 184 mg/dl to 172 mg/dl. The plain yogurt group also saw their A1C scores increase while those in the other two groups saw their score drop.
Previous studies on vitamin D have not shown a cause and effect in lowering blood sugar levels in diabetics, but this study does, observers note.
