Professor Philip Raskin of the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas Texas is already underway with a clinical trial to assess whether a daily dose of vitamin D (the ‘sunshine’ pill) will prevent type-2 diabetes. A number of studies have already shown this likely, and Raskin believes it could reduce diabetes incidence by 25 per cent.
For example, in a study in 2011 amongst elderly subjects, researchers concluded that vitamin D sufficiency may provide protection against type-2 diabetes. According to a study by Dr Christine Dalgarde, Maria Petersen and others, and published in Diabetes Care the journal of the American Diabetes Association, it could reduce the disease by at least 16 per cent..
668 Faroe Island subjects were followed, all over 70 years of age, and their blood levels of vitamin D compared if they developed type 2 diabetes. The study is part of a large study looking at the effects of environment (and particularly pollution) on health and longevity.
Raskin’s study started in 2013 with results due in 2017, but early indications are promising.
