Vitamin D and Type 1 Diabetes

A Finnish study has linked Vitamin D to reducing the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes in children. The study, which monitored over 12,000 babies born in 1966, showed that those who supplemented the correct amount of Vitamin D had an 80% decreased risk of developing diabetes. It was also found that children with rickets - a problem linked to Vitamin D deficiency - stood a three times higher risk of developing Type 1 diabetes.

In a recently published paper, William B Grant PhD presented a highly plausible theory to explain why Vitamin D might help prevent Type 1 diabetes. He found that several autoimmune diseases, of which Type 1 diabetes is one, are connected to viral infections. These escalate in the winter months when there is less exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D is made in response to UVB sun rays and so deficiency is more common in the winter months. Vitamin D promotes the production of bodily compounds that fight viral infection and so lessen the chances of risk of autoimmune diseases.

While further research is required in this area, these reports highlight the importance of supplementing our diets with a correctly balanced multivitamin. To review your current multivitamin with me, just contact me on katiektk@hotmail.co.uk