Vitamin D Decreases Pain in Type 2, Study Shows

By Diane Fennell Vitamin D lessens pain in women who have Type 2 diabetes and depression, according to new research presented at a recent conference at Loyola University's Health Sciences Campus. Up to 60% of people with diabetes deal with chronic pain, according to surveys, and people with diabetes are twice as likely to have depression as those without diabetes. Two types of vitamin D are important in humans: vitamin D2, which is made by plants, and vitamin D3, which is made by human skin when it is exposed to the sun. Foods may be fortified with either type of vitamin D. To determine how vitamin D2 supplementation affects both depression and pain in Type 2 diabetes, Loyola researchers evaluated the effectiveness six months of weekly supplementation with 50,000 IUs of vitamin D2 in women with Type 2 diabetes. (The current recommended daily allowance [the average daily amount thought to be sufficient to meet the health requirements of nearly all people] of vitamin D is 600 IU daily for people under 70 and 800 IU daily for those 71 years old and up.) At the start of the study, 61% of the participants reported shooting or burning pain in their legs and feet due to neuropathy, while 74% reported sensory pain in their hands, fingers, and legs such as numbness and tingling. The researchers found that depression in the women decreased significantly after supplementation with vitamin D2. Additionally, both neuropathic and sensory pain were found to decrease substantially at ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs