It has been well-established that vitamin D is crucial to the health of an individual's bones, and scientists seem to be constantly discovering more reasons why this nutrient is important. For example, recent research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism states that study participants with type 2 diabetes who drank vitamin D-fortified doogh (Persian yogurt drink), experienced decreased inflammation.
This is important, because inflammation is believed to play a major role in the development of type 2 diabetes and other complications such as heart disease and stroke.
"Our previous research showed that improvement of vitamin D status by regular daily intake of a fortified yogurt drink resulted in lowered blood glucose levels in diabetic patients," said researcher Tirang Neyestani, PhD. "The current study found that consuming a vitamin D-fortified yogurt drink also decreased serum substances which are known to have an inflammatory role."
According to the scientists, these findings suggest that vitamin D may open the door to new treatment options for type 2 diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association states that more than 25 million U.S. residents have diabetes, and type 2 is by far the most prevalent form of the disease