Supplements of magnesium may improve sensitivity to insulin and help reduce the risk of diabetes in overweight people, suggest new findings.
Daily supplements of the mineral for six months improved two out of three measures of insulin sensitivity, compared with placebo, while blood sugar levels, measured as fasting levels of glucose in the blood, improved by about 7 percent, report researchers in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
“The results of the current study provide significant evidence that magnesium supplementation ameliorates insulin resistance in obese, insulin resistant subjects,” report researchers, led by Prof. Frank Christoph Mooren, from the Institute of Sport Sciences at the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen.
Insulin resistance occurs when insufficient insulin is released to produce a normal glucose response from fat, muscle and liver cells.
“The efficacy of magnesium supplementation – even in subjects with normal serum magnesium concentrations – addresses the question of a prophylactic administration for people at risk for metabolic syndrome and highlights the need of sufficient magnesium intake by food,” they added.
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