Zinc “Crucial” for Improving Blood Sugar Regulation for Diabetics

A comprehensive meta-analysis, published in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, has shed light on the potential benefits of zinc supplementation in managing blood sugar levels among overweight and obese individuals.

Zinc is a powerful trace element responsible for more than 300 enzyme functions.

The study analyzed data from 12 randomized controlled trials, encompassing 651 participants, to understand the impact of zinc on various health markers like fasting glucose (FG), insulin resistance, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

The findings were significant: zinc supplementation led to notable improvements in these health markers, suggesting a crucial role for zinc in enhancing blood sugar control.

The research also explored the effects of zinc supplementation alone and in combination with other micronutrients. Interestingly, zinc supplementation alone significantly decreased FG and HOMA-IR, but not when combined with other supplements.

This finding suggests that zinc’s efficacy in lowering blood sugar levels might be more pronounced when taken independently.

Furthermore, the study revealed that zinc supplementation had a greater effectiveness in diabetes patients with comorbid overweight/obesity, compared to those with only overweight/obesity.

This finding could be pivotal for clinicians in providing more personalized and effective treatment strategies for improving sugar control or insulin resistance in patients with either obesity or both obesity and diabetes.

This meta-analysis presents zinc supplementation as a potentially beneficial intervention for blood sugar control in overweight and obese individuals. It paves the way for more targeted and effective treatment strategies in managing diabetes and related conditions, suggesting that zinc (poly)phenols may reduce future risk in an older population.

Previous Research Came to Similar Findings

Previous research has also indicated that zinc can counteract the negative effects of diabetes mellitus.

According to the study, zinc improves glycemic control in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Zinc naturally encourages insulin secretion and may help improve blood glucose levels. But zinc may play a role for additionally, lesser known reasons as well.

“…Furthermore, zinc might play a role in the development of diabetes, since genetic polymorphisms in the gene of zinc transporter 8 and in metallothionein (MT)-encoding genes could be demonstrated to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The fact that antibodies against this zinc transporter have been detected in type 1 diabetic patients offers new diagnostic possibilities.”

Zinc Health Benefits

In addition to assisting with diabetes, zinc is extremely important for tissue development, skin repair and bone health.

As we age, we need more and more zinc in order to keep the body healthy. Zinc helps maintain a healthy immune system improves brain function, prevents hair loss, improves impotence and prevents loss of taste and smell.

Foods Rich in Zinc

It is recommend that everyone ingest plenty of zinc, whether diabetic or not. Although you can take a high-quality zinc supplement, there are a number of foods that contain zinc. These foods include:

• Wheat germ
• Peanuts
• Bananas
• Lamb
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Chickpeas
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate
• Cucumbers
• Peaches
• Sunflower seeds
• Pork
• Pine nuts