Saturday Jan 17, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- A  study in the Sep. 2014 issue of Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal suggests that supplementation with 50000 IU per week for 8 weeks help type 2 diabetes mellitus with insufficient or deficient vitamin D to lower the levels of fasting serum glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR.

Early studies have associated serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and adiponectin inversely with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.  Diabetes mellitus patients are often vitamin D deficient.   The current study was intended to examine the effect of therapeutic dose of vitamin D on adiponectin and insulin resistance in vitamin D insufficient or deficient type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

In the double-blind, randomized, clinical trial, 81 type 2 diabetic patients with vitamin D levels of 10-30 ng/mL received 50000 IU vitamin D or placebo once a week for 8 weeks. All relevant parameters were measured at baseline and the end of the trial.

Supplementation with vitamin D significantly increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D to a normal level and decreased the levels of fasting serum glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR while controls did not experience the same reductions in these parameters.

However, vitamin D supplementation did not change serum adiponectin levels which are directly related to insulin sensitivity.

The researchers concluded "Therapeutic dose of vitamin D can improve vitamin D status and glycemic indicators. But it seems that an 8-week intervention period was not sufficient to reveal the possible effects of vitamin D on serum adiponectin levels." (David Liu, PH.D.)

Baziar N, Jafarian K, Shadman Z, Qorbani M, Khoshniat Nikoo M, Abd Mishani M.  Effect of therapeutic dose of vitamin d on serum adiponectin and glycemia in vitamin d-insufficient or deficient type 2 diabetic patients.   Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal. 2014 Sep 5;16(9):e21458.