Type 2 Diabetes - What Foods Contain Vitamin D?
There are few vitamins with more proven benefits for women who have Type 2 diabetes, and even for women who don't have Type 2 diabetes, than vitamin D.
This nutrient helps lower blood sugar levels to normal.
It protects against breast cancer and, ironically, considering it's made when the skin is exposed to the sun, it protects against skin cancer.
It helps keep bones strong and skin supple.
But can women get enough of D from food? Vitamin D in Food: The foods that have useful amounts of vitamin D are all of animal origin.
Cod liver oil, a breakfast beverage in sub-Arctic Scandinavia and Greenland, is very useful source of the vitamin for people who literally cannot get any sunshine at all.
Certain cold-water fish, especially cod and herring, are also great sources of D, as are butter (not margarine), and cream.
In much of the world, milk is fortified with vitamin D, about 100 IU per glass.
Cod Liver Oil: The problem with relying on food for vitamin D is that it's hard to get enough D without getting too much fat, that is, unless you drink a shot glass of cod liver oil every morning.
Women who are D-deficient need about 5,000 IU a day, and even women who have normal D levels need 2,000 IU a day.
That's 50 glasses of milk a day to raise low vitamin levels, and 20 glasses a day to maintain them.
Or maybe you would prefer just a nice big cup (240 ml) of cod liver oil, or not? Vitamin D From the Sun: The best way to get D is always by spending time in the sun.
Women with fair skin who spend just 20 minutes in the morning or late afternoon sun, just exposing face, hands, and forearms, can make 10,000 IU of the vitamin.
Women with dark skin might need to spend twice as much time in the sun each day to keep from becoming D deficient.
The skin has to be unprotected so it can absorb the ultraviolet rays that make it possible to synthesize the vitamin, but limited sun exposure actually protects against skin cancer.
When time in the sun is not possible, take supplemental D.
You don't have to spend a lot of money.
Pills are fine, and cost just pennies a day.
Be sure not to overdose, especially if you take calcium and magnesium, and you can keep your vitamin levels high at a very low cost to your budget.
The scientific data on D's myriad of beneficial health affects are just starting to accumulate.
Vitamin D may play several different roles in metabolic health, one of which is the ability to improve beta-cell function and insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes.
This nutrient helps lower blood sugar levels to normal.
It protects against breast cancer and, ironically, considering it's made when the skin is exposed to the sun, it protects against skin cancer.
It helps keep bones strong and skin supple.
But can women get enough of D from food? Vitamin D in Food: The foods that have useful amounts of vitamin D are all of animal origin.
Cod liver oil, a breakfast beverage in sub-Arctic Scandinavia and Greenland, is very useful source of the vitamin for people who literally cannot get any sunshine at all.
Certain cold-water fish, especially cod and herring, are also great sources of D, as are butter (not margarine), and cream.
In much of the world, milk is fortified with vitamin D, about 100 IU per glass.
Cod Liver Oil: The problem with relying on food for vitamin D is that it's hard to get enough D without getting too much fat, that is, unless you drink a shot glass of cod liver oil every morning.
Women who are D-deficient need about 5,000 IU a day, and even women who have normal D levels need 2,000 IU a day.
That's 50 glasses of milk a day to raise low vitamin levels, and 20 glasses a day to maintain them.
Or maybe you would prefer just a nice big cup (240 ml) of cod liver oil, or not? Vitamin D From the Sun: The best way to get D is always by spending time in the sun.
Women with fair skin who spend just 20 minutes in the morning or late afternoon sun, just exposing face, hands, and forearms, can make 10,000 IU of the vitamin.
Women with dark skin might need to spend twice as much time in the sun each day to keep from becoming D deficient.
The skin has to be unprotected so it can absorb the ultraviolet rays that make it possible to synthesize the vitamin, but limited sun exposure actually protects against skin cancer.
When time in the sun is not possible, take supplemental D.
You don't have to spend a lot of money.
Pills are fine, and cost just pennies a day.
Be sure not to overdose, especially if you take calcium and magnesium, and you can keep your vitamin levels high at a very low cost to your budget.
The scientific data on D's myriad of beneficial health affects are just starting to accumulate.
Vitamin D may play several different roles in metabolic health, one of which is the ability to improve beta-cell function and insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes.
