In the wake of all the INSULIN INSENSITIVITY ISSUES, here is some evidence suggesting a novel way to make it more SENSITIVE.
Sorry haven’t been on board of late, been busy with the new job…but I have been reading, and training hard.
Peace
In a separate study by Dilina N. Marreiro and colleagues from Universidade de Sao Paulo-SP in Brazil, zinc supplementation enhanced insulin sensitivity in obese women who were not zinc-deficient.
In this prospective, double-blind, clinical interventional study, 56 obese women with normal glucose tolerance were randomized to treatment with zinc, 30 mg daily, or placebo for four weeks. At baseline, age was 25 to 45 years, mean BMI was 36.2 ± 2.3 kg/m2, and both groups were similar in clinical and laboratory parameters.
Insulin resistance as measured by a homeostasis model assessment did not change in the placebo group, but it decreased from 5.8 ± 2.6 to 4.3 ± 1.7 (P<.05) in the zinc-supplemented group. Insulin decreased from 28.8 ± 14.1 to 21.2 ± 8.1 mU/mL (P<.05) in the zinc group but was unchanged in the placebo group.
“A short time of zinc supplementation improved insulin sensitivity in obese insulin [resistant] women without zinc deficiency,” the authors write. “Although the mechanism concerning the effect of zinc supplementation is not completely understood, further studies are recommended to address the possible role of zinc therapy in insulin resistance states such as [diabetes].”
ADA Annual Meeting: Abstracts 1644-P, 569-P. June 16-17, 2002.