Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/gnwupAEH4h8   A new Brazilian study shows that Vitamin D is key in promoting insulin sensitivity and lowering blood glucose.  Normal blood sugar levels prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, the type controllable by diet and medication rather than insulin.   Now here’s the “rest of the story” as the great Paul Harvey once intoned.  Although the US Preventive Services counsels against routine Vitamin D testing, a review from the University of Michigan published this year shows that Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are epidemic in the US population.     The latest estimate reveals that at least 30% of Americans have an outright Vitamin D deficiency while 40% have a vitamin D insufficiency.  Vitamin D deficiency is brought on by: eating few fruits and veggies; bowel diseases including ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and celiac disease; physical inactivity; excessive alcohol consumption; lack of dairy product ingestion; and, most importantly, by lack of sun exposure.   If you f