Vitamin D, as we know, is the sunshine vitamin that is produced endogenously by our bodies when sunlight is absorbed by our skin. Relating to Diabetes, Vitamin D has proven repeatedly to be protective against IDDM itself. A Time magazine article dated March 13th, 2008, notes that Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of obtaining Type 1 Diabetes by approximately 29%. In the test, Vitamin D supplements were provided to infants, whose growth and health were tracked for a few decades. But as remarkable as the report is, it doesn't quite tell the whole story.
To get a better picture, we have to look at a 2005 study from the Journal of Nutritional Sciences. The study conducted experiments in which NOD (Non-obese diabetic) mice were treated with Vitamin D supplements. At the end of the experiment, it was noted that the supplements prevented the development of diabetes in most cases. Moreover, the study was extended to the difference between mice raised with Vitamin D supplements and mice raised that were deficient of Vitamin D. This second study concluded that mice raised in a Vitamin D-deficient state actually acquired Type 1 Diabetes much earlier than did the Vitamin D-supplemented mice who developed it.
One major study completed to ascertain the viability of Vitamin D supplementary treatment in humans was conducted in 1999 in Europe. 820 diabetic children and 2335 nondiabetic children were interviewed to find out if the children had received Vitamin D supplements during the first year of life. The study reached the conclusion that by age 15, the risk of diabetes had plummeted by approximately a third in the supplemented sample compared to the unsupplemented sample.
Therefore, what we can see from this is that Vitamin D is a much more than a sunshine vitamin; it has preventative properties against one of the most puzzling autoimmune diseases known to man. Studies may continue to see if Vitamin D can answer any other questions about the mystery behind IDDM.
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