Vitamins That May Be Helpful
A variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other supplements may help with symptoms and deficiencies associated with diabetes.
Multiple Vitamin–Mineral Supplement
In a double-blind study, supplementation of middle-aged and elderly diabetics with a multiple vitamin and mineral preparation for one year reduced the risk of infection by more than 80%, compared with a placebo.
Chromium
Medical reports dating back to 1853, as well as modern research, indicate that chromium-rich brewer’s yeast (9 grams per day) can be useful in treating type 2 diabetes. In recent years, chromium has been shown to improve glucose levels and related variables in people with glucose intolerance and type 2, gestational, and steroid-induced diabetes. Improved glucose tolerance with lower or similar levels of insulin have been reported in more than ten trials of chromium supplementation in people with varying degrees of glucose intolerance. Chromium supplements improve glucose tolerance in people with type 2 diabetes, apparently by increasing sensitivity to insulin. Chromium improves the processing of glucose in people with prediabetic glucose intolerance and in women with diabetes associated with pregnancy. Chromium even helps healthy people, although one such report found chromium useful only when accompanied by 100 mg of niacin per day. Chromium may also lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides ( risk factors in heart disease ).
A few trials have reported no beneficial effects from chromium supplementation. All of these trials used 200 mcg or less of supplemental chromium, which is often not adequate for people with diabetes, especially if it is in a form that is poorly absorbed. The typical amount of chromium used in research trials is 200 mcg per day, although as much as 1,000 mcg per day has been used. Many doctors recommend up to 1,000 mcg per day for people with diabetes.
Supplementation with chromium or brewer’s yeast could potentially enhance the effects of drugs used for diabetes (e.g., insulin or other blood sugar-lowering agents) and possibly lead to hypoglycemia. Therefore, people with diabetes taking these medications should supplement with chromium or brewer’s yeast only under the supervision of a doctor.
Magnesium
People with type 2 diabetes tend to have low magnesium levels. Double-blind research indicates that supplementing with magnesium overcomes this problem. Magnesium supplementation has improved insulin production in elderly people with type 2 diabetes. However, one double-blind trial found no effect from 500 mg magnesium per day in people with type 2 diabetes, although twice that amount led to some improvement. Elders without diabetes can also produce more insulin as a result of magnesium supplements, according to some, but not all, trials. However, in people with type 2 diabetes who nonetheless require insulin, Dutch researchers have reported no improvement in blood sugar levels from magnesium supplementation. The American Diabetes Association acknowledges strong associations between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance but has not said magnesium deficiency is a risk factor. Many doctors, however, recommend that people with diabetes and normal kidney function supplement with 200 to 600 mg of magnesium per day.
By : Healthnotes
