3ac Health Tips

 

Depression and diabetes patients benefit from the sunshine vitamin

Depression during winter months was significantly reduced among study subjects who took high daily doses of vitamin D (4,000 IU) for a period of one year.
 
In a study that analysed the relation of vitamin D levels to insulin sensitivity in a group of adults with normal glucose-tolerance, those with the lowest levels of D were more prone to develop symptoms of type 2 diabetes, including weaker pancreatic function and greater insulin resistance.
 
Sufficient levels of vitamin D may cut the risk of heart disease in older women by as much as one-third, due to the ability of vitamin D to help prevent the build up of calcium deposits in the arteries.
 
When a group of 54 congestive heart failure (CHF) patients was compared to a group of 34 healthy subjects without CHF, researchers found that the CHF patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels than the healthy group, and those with the lowest vitamin D levels tended to have the most severe symptoms of CHF.