Can One Nutrient Prevent Type-2 Diabetes?

Do you have a family history of type-2 diabetes? Are you overweight, or do you have elevated triglyceride, A1c, or insulin levels?

If so, then you know that you’re at a greater risk of getting diabetes than everyone else. So, don’t wait until you hear the bad news from your doctor.

Scientists recently reported on an amazing study, which shows just how important taking one particular nutrient once a week can be for anyone who is at risk for diabetes.

To do the study, the researchers enlisted 903 men and women with an average age of 74 years. All of them were free of diabetes or pre-diabetes. The researchers monitored the group for the next nine years.

During that time, 47 of them developed type-2 diabetes, and 337 developed pre-diabetes. And here’s the thing. Their blood levels of vitamin D, even in the so-called normal range, turned out to be a significant factor in determining who ended up with diabetes and who didn’t.

The normal range for vitamin D in the blood is between 30-100 ng/ml. Compared with those who had abnormally low levels below 30 ng/ml, the men and women with vitamin D levels between 30-49 ng/ml were a full 70% less likely to get diabetes.

Those who had levels greater than 50 ng/ml did even better. They were 80% less likely to get the disease. That means that people with vitamin D levels less than 30 are five times more likely to get diabetes than those with a level over 50.

Over the nine years of the study, for every 10 ng/ml increase in their vitamin D level, there was a 30% decrease in the chance of getting diabetes. In this study, the risk of getting diabetes was directly linked to the levels of vitamin D.

These are amazing numbers – especially when you realize that we’re only talking about one nutrient. And that nutrient is so safe, easy, and inexpensive to take. For most people, simply taking 50,000 units of vitamin D once per week is all that is needed to get the levels up where they should be.

After two months, check your vitamin D level. If it’s over 50 ng/ml, then congrats! You have just significantly reduced your chance of getting diabetes. If it isn’t, then increase the dose until the blood levels are over 50. I find that some people need to take quite a bit of vitamin D in order to reach the 50 mark.

Study co-author Cedric F. Garland, adjunct professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, said that to reach a level greater than the deficiency level of 30 ng/ml most people will “require dietary supplements of 3,000 to 5,000 international units (IU) per day, less with the addition of moderate daily sun exposure with minimal clothing (approximately 10-15 minutes per day outdoors at noon).”

You will probably notice that this is much more than the official recommendation from the National Institutes of Health, which recommends only 700-900 units of vitamin D per day. These higher doses are completely safe.

If you do develop diabetes, you can stop it in its tracks simply by reading my book, The Type 2 Diabetes Breakthrough and following my simple instructions. This book will also help you avoid the disease completely if you’re at risk. In the book, I discuss how the right combination of diet, exercise, hormones, lifestyle choices, and nutrients can prevent and even cure the disease.