{"id":3930,"date":"2018-09-08T16:53:07","date_gmt":"2018-09-08T12:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/?p=3930"},"modified":"2018-09-08T16:53:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-08T12:53:07","slug":"lack-of-vitamin-d-gum-disease-higher-diabetes-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/2018\/09\/08\/lack-of-vitamin-d-gum-disease-higher-diabetes-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Lack of Vitamin D + Gum Disease = Higher Diabetes Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

It appears vitamin D can help prevent gum disease, an ailment that can increase the risk of diabetes. Researchers aren\u2019t sure yet how the three are connected, though.<\/p>\n

Eat healthy, exercise, limit alcohol and processed foods, don\u2019t smoke, keep blood pressure under control.<\/p>\n

There are lots of ways to\u00a0reduce your risk\u00a0of developing type 2 diabetes. But there may be another couple added to that list soon: Increase vitamin D levels and prevent gum disease.<\/p>\n

Researchers don\u2019t yet know for sure how vitamin D, gum disease, and type 2 diabetes are connected, but several studies have concluded that there appears to be a connection.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0new study, published earlier this summer, found more evidence of that.<\/p>\n

By examining health survey data from people in the United States over the age of 30, Aleksandra Zuk said she discovered that people with gum disease and low levels of vitamin D-3, the most important D vitamin, had increased odds of developing type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

Zuk, a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said that doesn\u2019t mean vitamin D deficiency causes the diseases, though.<\/p>\n

But getting sufficient vitamin D may help ward off at least gum disease, also known as periodontitis.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeriodontitis is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by oral microbes that, if left untreated, affects teeth-supporting tissues, and over time could lead to bone loss,\u201d Zuk told Healthline. \u201cVitamin D is not only important for bone health, but research shows that it may have anti-inflammatory and\/or antimicrobial effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible it may help ward off diabetes, too, although that has yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

Zuk said clinical trials are under way in several countries to look into that.<\/p>\n

For now, she said, \u201cthe current research regarding just vitamin D-3 or D on reducing diabetes risk is conflicting, and whether vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of diabetes in high-risk individuals is still to be confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A growing problem<\/h2>\n

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases as you age, although it\u2019s increasingly being seen in younger and younger patients.<\/p>\n

A\u00a02012 study\u00a0predicted the number of people under 20 with type 2 diabetes will jump by nearly 50 percent by 2050.<\/p>\n

There are some risk factors \u2014 family history, age, ethnic background \u2014 that can\u2019t be changed.<\/p>\n

But the disease can often be prevented, or at least delayed, by ensuring you live a healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n

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\"diabetes\"<\/picture><\/span><\/span>
Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eat healthy, exercise, limit alcohol and processed foods, don\u2019t smoke, keep blood pressure under control.<\/p>\n

There are lots of ways to\u00a0reduce your risk<\/a>\u00a0of developing type 2 diabetes. But there may be another couple added to that list soon: Increase vitamin D levels and prevent gum disease.<\/p>\n

Researchers don\u2019t yet know for sure how vitamin D, gum disease, and type 2 diabetes are connected, but several studies have concluded that there appears to be a connection.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0new study, published earlier this summer, found more evidence of that.<\/p>\n

By examining health survey data from people in the United States over the age of 30, Aleksandra Zuk said she discovered that people with gum disease and low levels of vitamin D-3, the most important D vitamin, had increased odds of developing type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

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Zuk, a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said that doesn\u2019t mean vitamin D deficiency causes the diseases, though.<\/p>\n

But getting sufficient vitamin D may help ward off at least gum disease, also known as periodontitis.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeriodontitis is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by oral microbes that, if left untreated, affects teeth-supporting tissues, and over time could lead to bone loss,\u201d Zuk told Healthline. \u201cVitamin D is not only important for bone health, but research shows that it may have anti-inflammatory and\/or antimicrobial effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible it may help ward off diabetes, too, although that has yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

Zuk said clinical trials are under way in several countries to look into that.<\/p>\n

For now, she said, \u201cthe current research regarding just vitamin D-3 or D on reducing diabetes risk is conflicting, and whether vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of diabetes in high-risk individuals is still to be confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A growing problem<\/h2>\n

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases as you age, although it\u2019s increasingly being seen in younger and younger patients.<\/p>\n

A\u00a02012 study\u00a0predicted the number of people under 20 with type 2 diabetes will jump by nearly 50 percent by 2050.<\/p>\n

There are some risk factors \u2014 family history, age, ethnic background \u2014 that can\u2019t be changed.<\/p>\n

But the disease can often be prevented, or at least delayed, by ensuring you live a healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Nearly 90 percent\u00a0of adults with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n

That agency notes that losing weight can lower your risk of developing the disease.<\/p>\n

Getting enough vitamin D can be part of a healthy lifestyle, especially because, to get enough, you usually need to be outside.<\/p>\n

You can\u00a0get vitamin D\u00a0from foods such as fish, but unlike vitamins A or C, it\u2019s difficult to get all the vitamin D your body needs from food.<\/p>\n

Instead, most of it usually comes from sunlight.<\/p>\n

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and other important substances that are critical to maintaining healthy bones and teeth.<\/p>\n

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The gum disease connection<\/h2>\n

The vitamin also has anti-inflammatory properties that\u00a0have been shown\u00a0to likely reduce inflammation in the gums.<\/p>\n

Periodontitis\u00a0starts out as the minor inflammation\u00a0gingivitis, which you might have if you\u2019ve noticed your gums bleed when you brush your teeth.<\/p>\n

But that inflammation can spiral into receding gums, bacteria buildup in the gums, bone loss, and eventually tooth loss.<\/p>\n

Zuk isn\u2019t the first to note that there appears to be a connection between these three conditions.<\/p>\n

A\u00a02015 study\u00a0in the Indian state of Kerala found that periodontitis patients, both with and without type 2 diabetes, had low vitamin D levels. But, the authors conjectured, those low levels \u201cmay be due to the diseases\u2019 processes rather than low vitamin D acting as a cause for the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors of that paper also said, however, that the patients they studied who just had periodontitis \u201cshowed a tendency\u201d toward prediabetes.<\/p>\n

They concluded that the body-wide inflammatory response to the gum disease may lead to insulin resistance and prediabetes, meaning gum disease may increase the risk of diabetes.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t jump to conclusions<\/h2>\n

If gum disease increases the risk of diabetes, and higher vitamin D levels reduce the risk of gum disease, then would it stand to reason that getting more vitamin D could reduce the risk of diabetes?<\/p>\n

Not so fast, Zuk warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of diabetes in high-risk individuals is still to be confirmed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And as for reversing diabetes, that was a firm no.<\/p>\n

\u201cVitamin D cannot reverse diabetes once type 2 diabetes has developed,\u201d Zuk said. \u201cThe pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes is complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are plans for more studies, though, including those trials in various countries. They\u2019ll just take time, since they\u2019ll need to follow people over a number of years.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

–<\/div>\n
Healthline<\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It appears vitamin D can help prevent gum disease, an ailment that can increase the risk of diabetes. Researchers aren\u2019t sure yet how the three are connected, though. Eat healthy, exercise, limit alcohol and processed foods, don\u2019t smoke, keep blood pressure under control. There are lots of ways to\u00a0reduce your risk\u00a0of developing type 2 diabetes. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3932,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3930\/revisions\/3932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}