Sunny deficient

Vitamin D deficiency has hit epidemic proportions among all demographics in this country. But obese kids are at especially high risk. There are probably a couple of reasons for this. Lack of sunshine is one of them. Excess fat interfering with D levels is another. But whatever you chalk this trend up to, one thing is for sure. It's dangerous... and linked, among other things, to both diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Luckily, though, research shows that overweight teens can avoid this fate. And replenishing their vitamin D stores might be an important part of the process. As part of a recent study, researchers randomly assigned obese adolescents either 4,000 IU of D3 or a placebo daily. After six months, the supplementing subjects' vitamin D levels had improved dramatically. But a couple of other key factors--including insulin sensitivity--changed for the better, too. Researchers also noted improvements in leptin-to-adiponectin ratios. These are two hormones that originate in your fatty tissue. They play a vital role in hunger signaling, fat storage, and energy metabolism. I discuss both leptin and adiponectin in detail in the latest issue of my newsletter,Logical Health Alternatives. (You can--and definitely should--subscribe.) But for now, suffice it to say that balancing these two hormones can mean the difference between weight loss success and failure. Which is what makes this study's results so important. If a little extra vitamin D can help steer America's obese kids away from diabetes and toward a healthier adulthood, what do we have to lose by giving it to them? Absolutely nothing. But they have a lifetime of good health to gain.