Vit D Lowers Blood Sugar And Reduces Fat In Indian Women: Study

A new study published in the Scientific Journal Nature.com shows that Vitamin D consumption can help reduce fat and blood sugar in obese and pre-diabetic women who suffer from its deficiency. The study was jointly conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Diabetes Foundation of India. It also reflects on the rise in  Vitamin D deficiency cases, especially in the Indian subcontinent.

Key Takeaways:

• A study published in the Scientific Journal Nature.com shows that Vitamin D consumption can help reduce fat and blood sugar in obese and pre-diabetic women who are Vitamin D deficient.
• The main objective of the study was to test the effect of Vitamin D supplementation on "glycemic profile and body composition in prediabetic and vitamin D deficient overweight/obese Asian Indian women."
• Vitamin D deficiency is emerging as one of the major problems due to ever-increasing urbanization. Indian subcontinent shows a high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency according to the data.
• Asian Indians are also known to have one of the highest numbers of individuals with pre-diabetes and diabetes among all the major ethnic groups, the study says.

The study included Overweight/obese females aged 20–60 years who had prediabetes. Prediabetes is one of the phases between normal sugar levels to hyperglycemia.

Lower Vitamin D Levels Associated With Higher Fasting Blood Glucose Levels

The study shows that lower Vitamin D levels are associated with higher fasting blood glucose levels. Therefore, the researchers are of the view that further studies are needed in Asian Indian women with prediabetes to evaluate if diabetes could be altogether prevented.

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The researchers in the current study hypothesized that Asian Indian women might be benefited from the intake of Vitamin D, as it can lead to a decrease in glycemia and reversal of prediabetes to normal glucose regulation, along with improvement in insulin sensitivity and body composition. The study included overweight/obese females aged 20–60 years who had prediabetes. Prediabetes is one of the phases between normal sugar levels to hyperglycemia. So this phase can be used to intervene and achieve normal glucose levels.  Not only this study, but several other studies worldwide have shown that Vitamin D is linked with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

Urbanization Resulting In Vitamin D Deficiency

According to the study, around 94 percent of people in urban India are Vitamin D deficient. This is because of the rapidly growing urbanization which is limiting people's exposure to everyday sunlight. However, even high exposure to sunlight doesn't show good results when it comes to Vitamin D composition in the body, as it is even common among in rural India.

Higher Odds Of Vitamin D Deficiency In Indian Women

Indian women have been shown at a higher risk of developing Vitamin D deficiency than European women. It is suggested that this may be because of the traditional clothing and also limited outbound movements because of social stigmas. According to the recently conducted study on women in New Delhi, the marked prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (94.5%; 68.6% deficiency and 25.9% insufficiency in urban and 90.8% in rural areas) was observed.

Picture credit: rush.edu

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