Forums

Hello Everyone,

Vitamin D appears to play an important role in the immune system. In a recent post about rheumatoid arthritis risk factors I mentioned that vitamin D appears to cut the risk of getting that terrible auto-immune disorder. Well, now comes a report from vitamin D researcher Cedric Garland of USCD about how type I auto-immune diabetes occurs at the highest rates where people get less sunshine and therefore get less vitamin D synthesized in their skin.

Sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children, according to new findings by researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. This association comes on the heels of similar research findings by this same group regarding vitamin D levels and several major cancers.

In this new study, the researchers found that populations living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine (and ultraviolet B irradiance) have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, populations at higher latitudes, where available sunlight is scarcer, have higher incidence rates. These findings add new support to the concept of a role of vitamin D in reducing risk of this disease.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure triggers photosynthesis of vitamin D3 in the skin. This form of vitamin D also is available through diet and supplements.

"This is the first study, to our knowledge, to show that higher serum levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced incidence rates of type 1 diabetes worldwide," said Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., professor of Family and Preventive Medicine in the UCSD School of Medicine, and member of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center.

The study is published June 5 in the online version of the scientific journal Diabetologia.

Hi
No more risk. Past research has come to the same conclusion. Countries with lots of sunshine, which triggers vitamin D production in the body, for example, have a lower incidence of type 1 diabetes than relatively sunless places. Studies have also shown that new cases of type 1 diabetes crop up more often in winter, when there is less sunshine all around, than in summer. In addition, says Zipitis, when doctors check vitamin D blood levels of newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes patients, they are generally lower than average. "In the U.K. and other European countries, we haven't got the right UV radiation for most of the year," he says, adding that vitamin D deficiency is a re-emerging problem in the U.K., and that doctors are seeing a resurgence of rickets in children. "With all the scares about skin cancer, when people go outside, they're covered with sunblock, which doesn't allow the conversion of UV light into vitamin D. That's where the supplements come in."

Insufficient blood levels of vitamin D have been linked to several health problems aside from rickets and type 1 diabetes, including other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, along with some rare but serious heart problems like cardiomyopathy. Indeed a host of recent studies has shown myriad benefits of taking supplements. Beyond better bone health, stronger muscles and fewer fractures in adults, research also suggests vitamin D can reduce the risk of various cancers. A study of 1,179 postmenopausal women published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last year found that women who took calcium and 1,100 I.U. of vitamin D daily had 80% fewer cancers than women who took a placebo or calcium alone.

For infants, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommends a supplement of 200 I.U. of vitamin D per day, starting at two months of age for breastfed babies. Once infants are weaned to vitamin-D fortified formula, however, supplements are no longer

Hello,
I read your comment,also have a look of the link which you have provided.Well nice article,i must say.I appreciate your thought for sharing such tips and disease solution at the community.This type of information would so helpful to the patient and their relatives.Please try to share more about different disease if possible.Thank you for sharing the information..


Thank you for sharing such a nice comment.