Vitamin D plays a key role in glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. As such, evidence suggests that this essential fat-soluble vitamin—or, more specifically, the amount you have in your body—impacts your likelihood of developing diabetes.
Considering 29% of U.S. adults2 are deficient in vitamin D and another 41% are insufficient, it’s entirely possible the link between vitamin D and diabetes is stronger than we fully understand.
In this review, researchers analyzed three different randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to see whether increasing vitamin D intake for an individual with prediabetes can effectively lower their risk of developing diabetes. Two of the RCTs tested vitamin D3 (aka cholecalciferol) intake—specifically, 20,000 IU weekly and 4,000 IU daily—while the third tested eldecalcitol (a vitamin D analog).
Their findings highlighted yet another health benefit of vitamin D. Overall, vitamin D intake was found to reduce the risk of diabetes by 15% in individuals with prediabetes. Additionally, it increased the likelihood of regressing to normal (i.e., healthy) glucose regulation by 30%.