"Women from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with insulin resistance showed marked improvement after taking vitamin D supplements, says a study.
Von Hurst, nutrition lecturer at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health at Albany, conducted the study for her doctoral thesis.
Insulin resistance is largely symptom-free and sufferers are unaware of their condition. 'Once it has fully developed into type-2 diabetes, it can be treated, but not cured,' says Von Hurst.
Von Hurst says that while diet and exercise play a major part in the onset of type-2 diabetes, her findings reinforce the importance of vitamin D from the sun and supplements to prevent type-2 diabetes. She also found evidence of vitamin D increasing bone strength in older women.
"