Prediabetic? You MUST Read This
If you’re prediabetic, you’re skating on thin ice.
Even though you haven’t crossed that line into full-blown diabetes, you’re not far from it.
Prediabetics already have trouble with insulin, which causes blood sugar levels to be higher than they should be.
But instead of panicking about it, think of it as your body’s wake up call, and do something about it.
Fortunately, there’s one simple thing you can do starting today before diabetes gets you.
As part of the Diabetes Prevention Program, researchers studied over 2,000 people with prediabetes to test ways to help prevent them from becoming diabetic.
Their research led them to vitamin D.
After testing their vitamin D levels over a nearly 3-year period, one thing became clear: Patients with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 28% less likely to develop diabetesthan those with the lowest levels.
There’s a good reason for vitamin D’s protective effect.
A study published in 2011 showed that vitamin D boosts the function of cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. And insulin is essentially the “key” that allows glucose to enter tissues (taking it out of the bloodstream).
This study looked at prediabetics as well, and if found that those taking vitamin D experienced a 26% improvement in the functioning of their pancreatic cells, while those not taking vitamin D saw a 14% decline.
If you’re prediabetic, I recommend having your blood levels of vitamin D tested.
There is some debate about the optimal level of vitamin D, but I always recommend aiming for at least 60 ng/ml.
If you’re prediabetic and your levels are low, taking steps to improve your vitamin D status – like getting 15 minutes of sunlight everyday – could be a key way to make sure you never get full-blown diabetes.
