If you have type-2 (adult) diabetes, there's a 60% chance you're deficient in a very important vitamin.

A new study shows that the majority of diabetes patients are deficient in vitamin D. This nutrient is critical not only for calcium absorption and bones, but also for your circulation, immune system, and cancer prevention.

Type-2 diabetes is already hard enough on your circulation. Don't make it worse with a deficiency you can prevent simply by spending time outdoors (in warm months) or by supplement in colder months.

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I think most people over the age of 50 don't get enough vitamin D. I recommend you get your levels checked. Make sure your vitamin D levels are in the upper quartile of your lab reference range. If they're not, then make sure you take sufficient vitamin D in supplement form to raise your levels to that range.

I routinely measure vitamin D as 25-hydroxyvitamin D. While most folks are within the reference range, they are far from my ideal levels of 45-50 ng/ml or 115-128 nmol/l. I currently have almost all of my diabetic patients on a D3 supplement or cod liver oil (4,000 IU daily). I also suggest common sense exposure to sunlight. That doesn't include burning your skin.

Ref: Diabetes Care, March 2006; 29(3): 722-724.