rickets Archives • Alison Mitchell Naturopath https://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/tag/rickets Find information about naturopathy, my clinic and myself as a practitioner Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:48:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.8 Vitamin D helps blood sugar level stability during pregnancy https://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/vitamin-d-helps-blood-sugar-level-stability-during-pregnancy https://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/vitamin-d-helps-blood-sugar-level-stability-during-pregnancy#respond Sat, 10 Jan 2015 03:03:40 +0000 http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/?p=2684

10/1/15 Vitamin D for healthy blood sugar levels in pregnancy If you’re not getting enough Vitamin D while you’re pregnant, your blood sugar levels may suffer. This could mean that you’re more likely to get issues with blood glucose and...

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10/1/15

Vitamin D for healthy blood sugar levels in pregnancy

If you’re not getting enough Vitamin D while you’re pregnant, your blood sugar levels may suffer. This could mean that you’re more likely to get issues with blood glucose and insulin regulation, which can lead to conditions such as gestational diabetes (1).

The worse the vitamin D deficiency, the worse the blood sugar level control is. (2) Vitamin D deficiency usually occurs when your blood levels become lower than 50 nmol/L, but personally, I suggest keeping them around the 90-120 level for optimal health.

Over 3 in 5 pregnant women in Australia have insufficient Vitamin D, and during pregnancy you need about 4-5 times more Vitamin D, as it has such an important role to play in the health of yourself and the baby (3).

Vitamin D is involved in the regulation of calcium metabolism, blood sugar levels (4), immune health and is also an important nutrient for keeping breast cancer risk low. Vitamin D is also well known for it’s involvement in bone health.

Pre-eclampsia, low birthweight, preterm birth, increased risk of post-partum depression and autoimmune disease are also associated with Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. (5)(6)

Why so many people are deficiency in Vitamin D despite living in the ‘Sunny Country’ is still not completely understood. Unfortunately Vitamin D testing has recently been removed from the Medicare rebate list (except in rare circumstances), so this is a test that will need to be paid out of pocket. Because of this, and also because of the high safety levels of vitamin D supplementation it’s likely that the best course of action during pregnancy is to supplement at a range of 1000-2000IU Vitamin D in addition to what is contained in pregnancy multi-vitamins, as well as getting smart sun exposure. (5)(7)

Tips on how to get vitamin D from the sun while still being safe:

  • Vitamin D is best absorbed between 10am and 3pm.
  • Get 7-10 minutes of sun exposure to arms and legs.
  • Follow with SPF30+ sunscreen.
  • Always protect the face.

Works Cited

1. Aghajafari F, Nagulesapillai T, Ronksley PE, Tough SC, O’Beirne M, Rabi DM. Association between maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ. 2013 Mar 26;346

2.  Lau SL, Gunton JE, Athayde NP, et al., Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and glycated haemoglobin levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Med J Aust 2011;194(7):334-337.

3. Teale Gr, Cunningham CE. Vitamin D deficiency is common among pregnant women in rural Victoria. Aust NZ J Obstet and Gynaecol. 2010, April 1.

4.  Manna P, Jain SK. Vitamin D up-regulates glucose transpoter 4 (GLUT4) translocation and glucose utilization mediated by cystathionine-y-lysase (CSE) activation and H2S formation in 3T3L1 adipocytes. J Bio Chem 2010;7;287.

5. Mulligan ML, Felton SK, Reik AE, Bernal-Mizrachi C. Implication of Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and lactation. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;202(5):429.

6. Hanieh S, Ha TT, Simpson JA, Thuy TT, Khuong NC, Thoang DD, Tran TD, Tuan T, Fisher J, Biggs BA. Maternal vitamin D status and infant outcomes in rural Vietnam: a prospective cohort study. PLoS One. 2014 Jun 26;9(6)

7. Hollis BW, Johnson D, Hulsey TC, et al. Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy: double blind, randomized clinical trial of safety and effectiveness. J Bone Miner Res 2011,;10:2341-2357.

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