Improve Gut Health and Metabolic Syndrome with Vitamin D

By IHR Magazine, January 4, 2017. Updated July 27, 2026

A recent study has found that vitamin D deficiency can aid in the progression of metabolic syndrome, with underlying disturbances in gut bacteria.
“Based on the study, we believe that keeping vitamin D levels high, either through sun exposure, diet or supplentation, is beneficial for prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome,” says Professor Stephen Pandol, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, USA, who collaborate with Yuan-Ping Han’s research team at Sichuan University in China.

With nearly a quarter of the world’s adult population affected by metabolic syndrome, the research team has made important advances in understanding the causative role of vitamin D.

“A sufficient dietary vitamin D supplement can partially but significantly antagonize metabolic syndrome caused by high fat diet in mice,” Pandol says. “These are amount equivalent to the dietary recommendations for humans.”

They have specifically found that a high fat diet affects the balance between good and bad bacteria in the gut. Vitamin D deficiency decreases the production of defensins, while a high fat diet induces modest fatty liver, and slightly raises blood sugar levels. A supplement can supply a synthetic defensin to recover the gut bacteria balance, decreases blood sugar and improves fatty liver.

Sections: Research News