Low vitamin D levels the key to diabetes and heart disease

Low levels of vitamin D—the ‘sunshine’ vitamin—is one of the keys to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and auto-immune diseases.

The vitamin regulates inflammation, which is a vital part of healing, but when it persists and becomes chronic it can lead to diabetes, heart problems and some cancers.

Researchers from the University of South Australia say there is a direct link between low levels of the vitamin and chronic inflammation.  They profiled nearly 295,000 participants in the UK Biobank study, and measured their levels of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation.

Boosting levels of the vitamin could lower rates of diabetes and heart disease, and keep more people out of hospital, the researchers say.  They even think that having adequate levels helps combat obesity and the diseases that arise from being seriously overweight.

Vitamin D is a nutrient and a hormone that regulates biological processes such as building bones, curbing cancer growth, controlling infection and reducing inflammation

The US’s National Institutes of Health recommends a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IUs, but as is the case with most health agency recommendations, the dose will have very little therapeutic value.  Instead, some researchers have been handing out daily doses of 5000 IUs to study participants with no ill effects.

As well as taking supplements, adding vitamin D-rich foods—such as oily fish, liver and egg yolks—to your diet can also boost levels.

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2022; doi: 10.1093/ije/dyac087

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