“Is vitamin D deficiency normal in diabetes patients?”
I am diabetic for the last 3 years. My recent body check up reports have indicated that my vitamin D levels are low. Is this deficiency connected to my diabetes?
6 Answers
Vitamin D deficiency is very frequently encountered in patients with diabetes, particularly if they are overweight and have not been taking vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D has important antiinflammatory properties that may help prevent diabetes complications. I supplement my patients with at least 4000 IU daily and I monitor their blood levels of vitamin D to ensure adequacy and safety.
It is common but not normal.
Vitamin D deficiency is due to lack of sun exposure. On once you put a sunblocker > 8 on your body the vitamin D cannot be made and stored in your body resulting in deficiency. Long term vitamin d deficiency weakens your bones causing osteopenia/ osteoporosis.
If you are deficient start taking 2000 iu's of Vitamin D3 to replenish your loss.
If you are deficient start taking 2000 iu's of Vitamin D3 to replenish your loss.
Currently we do not have conclusive evidence that vitamin D deficiency linked to diabetes mellitus. Large number of people in USA have low vitamin D and many of them do not have diabetes. Currently there are multiple ongoing studies trying to determine if vitamin D deficiency predisposes to type 1 diabetes mellitus but we do not have a definitive answer yet.
Dr Marina Strizhevsky
Dr Marina Strizhevsky
Vit D, which is not a vitamin, but a pro hormone (a substance turned into a hormone by sunlight) is low in the majority of Americans since we no longer eat the major food source of liver and fish liver. Add to that the use of sunblock, living indoors and fear of the sun and you get very low vitamin D levels. The national institute of health recommends a much higher replacement level than previously believed to fix the problem. It has nothing to do with your diabetes.
Probably not. Some studies have indicated some relation between diabetes & Via. D def. but more as def. a cause of diabetes. Other studies have shown no relationship. Vitamin D def. is more likely due to too little enriched dairy products &/or to little sunshine. More of these could solve the problem or oral Vit. D supplements should correct.
