The Vitamin As Good As A Drug To Fight Diabetes

In trying to control blood sugar in kids who are very overweight and in danger of diabetes, researchers have discovered a vitamin that produces blood sugar benefits “nearly as powerful as what we have seen using a prescription drug.”

The vitamin that controls blood sugar and helps insulin levels is vitamin D.

“By increasing vitamin D intake alone, we got a response that was nearly as powerful as what we have seen using a prescription drug,” says researcher Catherine Peterson, an associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri. “We saw a decrease in insulin levels, which means better glucose control, despite no changes in body weight, dietary intake or physical activity.”

Peterson adds: “The vitamin D dosage we gave to the obese adolescents in our study is not something I would recommend for everyone. For clinicians, the main message from this research is to check the vitamin D status of their obese patients, because they’re likely to have insufficient amounts. Adding vitamin D supplements to their diets may be an effective addition to treating obesity and its associated insulin resistance.”

The researchers gave the children in the study 4,000 International Units of vitamin D3 daily during the six-month study.