Vit-D ‘cure’ for Indian women: Study
NEW DELHI: Vitamin D consumption can reduce fat and blood sugar in obese and pre-diabetic Indian women who suffer from its deficiency, a study by researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Diabetes Foundation of India shows.
Results of a randomised robust trial conducted on overweight Indian females aged 20-60 years who had pre-diabetes have been published in Scientific Reports, a Nature group journal.
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Study
The study shows that some patients – who were pre-diabetic and given vitamin D supplements during the trial – reverted to normal glucose levels and body fat also decreased.
Whereas, the placebo sample without vitamin D supplements progressed to diabetes.
“ Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide.
India is exposed to adequate sunshine and it has been presumed that Indians have adequate levels of vitamin D.
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But several studies show high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relation to abdominal obesity.
Vit-D deficiency in women
In India, women, in particular, are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency because many of them are confined to households and have their bodies covered with clothes.
Thus, they may not be exposed to sufficient sunlight,” says says Fortis C-Doc chairman Anoop Misra, also one of the authors of the study.
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While various studies in the past have shown that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have lower levels of vitamin D as compared with non-diabetic individuals.
Where the new study assumes significance because it shows significant reduction of blood sugar levels for some pre-diabetic to reverse to normal levels, experts say.
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