Vitamin A protects against diabetes

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Vitamin A is best known as an eye vitamin. But it is also needed for skin, reproduction and bone formation. It was previously unknown that it apparently also has an important protective function for the insulin-producing beta cells. A deficiency could therefore favor diabetes.

"We already knew from animal experiments that newborn mice need vitamin A for their beta cells to develop normally," says Albert Salehi from Lund University in Sweden. A connection between vitamin A deficiency and the development of diabetes was not yet known.

Collapsing vitamin production

But when examining beta cells, the researcher and his team found that they are equipped with receptors for vitamin A. To test the function of the tiny docking sites for vitamin A, the researchers blocked them on mouse beta cells. They then exposed the cells to higher concentrations of sugar. The effects were serious: "Insulin delivery has plummeted by almost 30 percent," reports Salehi.

This roughly corresponded to the performance of beta cells in human subjects with type 2 diabetes, which the researchers compared with that of healthy people. In fact, the declining ability to produce insulin, along with the increasing insulin resistance of the body's cells, is a central mechanism in type 2 diabetes.

Defenseless against inflammation

And the researchers came across another effect that could promote diabetes: if there was an insufficient supply of vitamin A, the resistance of the beta cells to inflammatory processes decreased rapidly. If vitamin A was completely lacking, the cells died.

In fact, increased inflammatory processes in the body have been identified as a central mechanism in the development of diabetes. Such inflammatory reactions usually go unnoticed, but damage the tissue.

A vitamin A deficiency has a twofold negative effect on the beta cells - and thus on the risk of diabetes: Insulin production decreases and the defense mechanisms of the cells are weakened.

Warning about vitamin A pills

Nevertheless, the researchers warn against increasing your own vitamin A intake through dietary supplements: Overdosing is harmful and can, among other things, promote osteoporosis. However, those who consume plenty of vitamin-rich foods are not at risk, the researchers write.

Foods rich in vitamin A

Foods that contain the vitamin in its pure form are of animal origin. Liver and sea fish in particular are rich in vitamin A. However, it is also found in eggs, milk and milk products.

However, plant-based foods contain the precursor of vitamin A, beta-carotene. Red and yellow fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, apricots and peppers, but also various types of cabbage, especially kale, are rich in it.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that can only be absorbed by the body in combination with fat. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends 0.8 and 1.1 milligrams per day for adolescents aged 15 and over and adults.

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