Type 2 Diabetes - Vitamin D in Obese Adolescents

By Beverleigh H Piepers  

Photo: rsefitness.com

According to a growing body of evidence, a vitamin D deficiency is associated with insulin resistance, the cause of Type 2 diabetes, as well as full-blown Type 2 diabetes itself, and heart and blood vessel disease. Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem among overweight and obese adolescents in developed countries. In 2011 the journal Polish Endokrynology reported the results of a study on vitamin D in insulin resistance in obese young people.
Sixty-four obese adolescents were included in this study:

• half the participants were deficient in vitamin D, while
• 14 percent had a sufficient amount, and
• 36 percent had borderline values.

Levels of vitamin D were naturally higher during summer than winter months. Those with the:

• highest percentage of body fat,
• those with acanthosis nigricans, a discoloration of the armpits sometimes seen in diabetes, and
• the highest blood sugar levels,

had the lowest blood levels of vitamin D.
Vitamin D is made when the skin is exposed to sunlight. While obese adolescents might be shy about being seen in a swimsuit at the beach or public swimming pool, walking outside with one's face and arms exposed is a good way to get vitamin D in the spring, summer and fall.
Vitamin D is also available in foods and food supplements made from fungi:

• soymilk is often fortified with vitamin D. Check the labels for the amount of vitamin D listed. Soymilk can be used in most places as a substitute for dairy milk.
• cereals can also be fortified with vitamin D.

A cup of Cheerios or three quarters of a cup of Total cereal with a cup of Silk soymilk can supply 40 per cent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D.
Try making a smoothie with soymilk and your favorite fruit:

• Silksoymilk.com recommends making a smoothie with soymilk, strawberries, banana, a sweetener of choice, and optional vanilla.

Allrecipes.com recommends making pancakes with soymilk, all-purpose flour (substitute whole wheat), sugar (substitute stevia), baking powder, baking soda, egg, (substitute vegan egg substitute), vegetable oil, vanilla, and almonds.
Mushrooms contain some vitamin D, and if you buy the kind that have been grown under ultraviolet light, you can get even more:

• Monterey Mushrooms advertises a 3 ounce serving of its mushrooms contains more than 100 per cent of the RDA of vitamin D.
• mushrooms are low in calories and delicious.

Try baking them with a drizzle of olive oil for a snack, or include them in a wrap with thin flat bread, along with baked sliced tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Or cut them up for a salad along with some kale, Romaine lettuce, chopped onions and grated carrots. Top off with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
There's more than one way to get your daily intake of vitamin D. Because of all the research that's been done in recent years, vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients you can take if you have Type 2 diabetes.

To discover answers to questions you may be asking yourself about Type 2 Diabetes, click on this link... Natural Diabetes Treatments
Clicking on this link will help you to learn more about Type 2 Diabetes Solutions... Beverleigh Piepers RN... the Diabetes Detective.
Beverleigh Piepers is the author of this article. This article can be used for reprint on your website provided all the links in the article are complete and active. Copyright (c) 2011 - All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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