By David Liu, PHD

Sunday July 29, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking vitamin D supplements even if it does not help restore vitamin D to the normal level may help improve lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a study published on July 18, 2012 in Cardiovascular Daibetology.

The study led by N.M. Al-Daghri of King Saud University, PO Box, 2455, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and colleagues showed patients with type 2 diabetes taking vitamin D supplements for 18 months lowered low density lipoprotein cholesterol by 18 percent and total cholesterol by 9 percent among other benefits.

Al-Daghri et al. says in their report that vitamin D deficiency may play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus type 2 and their study was intended to examine whether vitamin D3 supplementation would improve the metabolic profiles of Saudi type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

For the study, the researchers recruited 34 Saudi men at an average of 56.6 years who had a body mass index of 29.1 kg/m2 (overweight) and 58 women aged 51.2 years on average who had a body mass index of 34.3 kg/m2 (ovesity) and gave them 2000 IU of vitamin D per day for a period of 18 months.  collected from the participants were anthropometrics and fasting blood smaples for measuring vitamin 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months of treatment. All subjects had diagnosed yet controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

It was found that after 18 months of vitamin D supplementation, the serum level of the vitamin increased to 54.7 nmol/L at 18 months from 32.2 nmol/L at baseline and serum calcium level increased from 2.3 mmol/L to 2.6 mmol/L.  Low density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol was reduced to 3.6 mmol/L at 18 months from  4.4 mmol/L at baseline whereas total cholesterol was lowered to 4.9 mmol/L at 18 months from 5.4 mmol/L at baseline.

Additionally, HOMA-beta function was significantly improved in both men and women with type II diabetes mellitus.

The researchers concluded "In the Saudi T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellittus) population receiving oral Vitamin D3 supplementation (2000 IU/day), circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels remained below normal 18 months after the onset of treatment. Yet, this "suboptimal" supplementation significantly improved lipid profile with a favorable change in HDL/LDL ratio, and HOMA-beta function, which were more pronounced in T2DM females."

Type 2 diabetes affects an estimated 24 million Americans. There is no cure for the disease, which can cause severe complications.  Although it is not clear what exactly causes the disease, many people believe a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk of developing the disease.