Day 6 - Seventh Camp Blog Entry
July 23rd, 2009 by SteveGotten enough”D” lately?
Thinking about a very essential vitamin has undergone a renaissance in the past few years. It was highlighted by a 2009 report from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston which found that up to 70% of all children and teens with type 1 diabetes were insufficient or deficient in vitamin D. The reason for this may be less sun exposure or effective use of sunscreen, which blocks most of the vitamin D producing rays of the sun.
Dietary reasons for low vitamin D include less fortified milk consumption (soda pop reigns!) or other sources of vitamin D (oily fish, fortified cereals, eggs).
I have seen this problem in my patients with both forms of diabetes. So, why is there such a fuss about this vitamin? Well as it turns out, vitamin D is necessary for a healthy immune system. But low vitamin D levels are known to be associated with a list of serious diseases, include both types of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, some cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson disease, and Multiple sclerosis to name just a few. Our blood vessels are richly lined with receptors for vitamin D. The current recommendations for daily vitamin D intake are probably too low. On top of that, the current vitamin D intake of most Americans is quite poor. 400 IU is the official RDA for vitamin D, but it may be better to move that value closer to 1000 IU. There have been over 3,000 papers on vitamin D in just the past year. This is a white hot diabetes topic and will remain so for a long time to come. I strongly suggest getting your child with diabetes checked for their 25-hydroxy-vitamin D level at the next office visit. You may be surprised at the result. Personally, I take 1000 mg vitamin D3 daily and have so for over a year.
Last 5 posts by Steve
- Halloween and Diabetes CAN mix! - October 5th, 2009
- Introducing Healthy Families of South Texas - October 5th, 2009
- Complications 101 - About Kidney Failure - August 23rd, 2009
- The Sleep Bolus - August 18th, 2009
- The Dirty Truth Behind DCCT - August 16th, 2009
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
When eating pizza or Mexican food or other fatty foods, David gets stuck on, say 250 bg, and even with corrections, it can stay ther for hours. So the insulin used is well beyond what is needed for the carbs eaten. So, slow absorption of carbs can’t be the answer. Does the fat cause resistance to insulin?
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Those two foods are the typical examples for the use of an extended or combination bolus (up to 8 hour extended for pizza, around 6 hours for Mexican food with a 40-50% immediate component. Individual results vary and must be fine tuned to the individual. Slow carb absorption plays a significant role. Yes, fat can cause insulin resistance.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am
If you are interested in vitamin D you should take a look at http://www.vitaminD3world.com The Canadian Cancer Society now recommends that everyone take vitamin D to prevent cancer. The site has good summaries of the data and offers a new preparation of vitamin D in a micro-pill formulation. The pills have been formulated with cellulose which absorbs water very quickly. This ensures that the pill breaks up very quickly to provide for maximum absorption. The micro pill is tiny and tasteless. Many vitamin D pills on the market have very poor dissolution properties resulting in poor absorption.
The site also offers to supply customers with a free supply of 400IU for their children and it also has a good newsletter.