Researchers' from the University of Glasgow, University of Bristol, University College London, and St George's, University of London have been awarded a £195,000 grant by Diabetes UK to investigate whether vitamin D has a role in reducing the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

'Sunshine vitamin' and reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes

Vitamin D, often known as the 'sunshine vitamin', increases in level when the skin is exposed to sunlight and is also found in foods such as oily fish and eggs. Increased vitamin D levels have previously been associated with a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes. Until now, however, the direct causal link has never been fully investigated. The planned research project will look at factors that may explain this relationship and determine whether individuals have a genetic make-up that leads to higher vitamin D levels throughout their life are also at lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Could vitamin D supplements help in diabetes prevention?

Lead researcher Professor Naveed Sattar from Glasgow University's Metabolic Medicine Group, said: "By taking advantage of well-characterised existing population studies commenced more than 12 years ago, we are now able to look at samples from 9,500 people to examine links between vitamin D levels and diabetes much more rigorously than previously attempted."

Diabetes UK hopes the research findings will help establish if there is a place for further research to test whether vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes along with other measures such as keeping active, watching your waistline and eating a healthy balanced diet.

Click here to see the rest of this article in Medical News Today Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
permalink Technorati

Read More...

Mayo Clinic researchers found that healthy young people who put on as little as 9 pounds of fat, specifically in the abdomen, are at risk for developing endothelial cell dysfunction. Endothelial cells line the blood vessels and control the ability of the vessels to expand and contract.

"Endothelial dysfunction has long been associated with an increased risk for coronary artery disease and cardiovascular events," says Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic. "Gaining a few pounds in college, on a cruise, or over the holidays is considered harmless, but it can have cardiovascular implications, especially if the weight is gained in the abdomen."

For the study, which was published in this week's Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Somers and his team recruited 43 healthy Mayo Clinic volunteers with a mean age of 29 years. They were tested for endothelial dysfunction by measuring the blood flow through their arm arteries. The volunteers were assigned to either gain weight or maintain their weight for eight weeks, and their blood flow was tested. The weight-gainers then lost the weight and were tested again.

Among those who gained weight in their abdomens (known as visceral fat), even though their blood pressure remained healthy, researchers found that the regulation of blood flow through their arm arteries was impaired due to endothelial dysfunction. Once the volunteers lost the weight, the blood flow recovered. Blood flow regulation was unchanged in the weight-maintainers and was less affected among those who gained weight evenly throughout their bodies.

Click here to see the rest of this article in Medical News TodayReprinted with kind permission from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

permalink Technorati

Read More...