Vitamin D and Type 1 diabetes has interesting relationship. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to the development of Type 1 diabetes mellitus.1 Scientific evidence also shows that vitamin D supplementation – starting during infancy – may prevent Type 1 diabetes later in life But can vitamin D supplement help if a person has already developed type 1 diabetes?
In a recently published study researchers conclude that vitamin D supplement may be able to help insulin production in newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetics.2 Obviously, this is a landmark study and gives Type 1 diabetics an additional tool to help manage their disease.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and typically affects children and teenagers, although it can affects adults rarely. The incidence of Type 1 diabetes has been rising over the past three decades, which points to lifestyle and environmental factors as important key players, in addition to genetic predisposition.3
Insulin (through injections or insulin pump) is the main treatment of Type 1 diabetes.
Clinical Trial On the Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D on Type 1 diabetes
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center conducted this landmark study. It was double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. They enrolled 48 patients (aged 10-21 years) with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes and gave them ergocalciferol in high doses. Ergocalciferol is a form of vitamin D. It is called vitamin D2. The other more common form of vitamin D supplement is Vitamin D3. Both are effective to supplement vitamin D level in our body. The dose of Vitamin D2 in this clinical trial was (50,000 IU/wk for 2 months, then biweekly for 10 months).
The results were as follows: Type 1 diabetics who received high dose vitamin D supplement were able to continue to produce more insulin than those who received placebo. In other words, there was a protective effect of vitamin D on the beta cell of the pancreas to produce insulin.
Honeymoon period in Type 1 diabetes
Most Type 1 diabetics continue to produce insulin for months and even years before the beta cells become exhausted and stop producing insulin. This is known as “honeymoon period” for Type 1 diabetics.
Currently, researchers are aiming to increase the duration of the honeymoon period using various drugs such as imatinib, verapamil, and other agents. The current landmark study clearly shows a beneficial effect of high dose vitamin D on the honeymoon period, which is comparable to the effects of pharmaceutical drugs, which are expensive and laden with serious side-effects. On the other hand, vitamin D is inexpensive and has potentially no side-effects. In addition, vitamin D has a wide range of beneficial effects on the body.
Prevention is better than the cure
While this study shows that vitamin D supplement may benefit newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics, one wonders about the prevention of this horrible disease in the first place. Can vitamin D supplement prevent type 1 diabetes? the answer is yes. Please read the following article.
Vitamin D may prevent Type 1 diabetes
