Recent research indicates that low levels of zinc in the blood may be an indicator of prediabetes risk. It may even indicate that zinc plays a role in the development of diabetes and serve as a potential treatment for preventing diabetes.
The Zinc Study
Doctors at RUDN University and P. G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University recruited 160 women, half with prediabetes and half without. They took blood serum samples and measured the presence of 28 elements. It was found that the zinc levels of prediabetic serum were at least 10% lower compared to the levels in healthy women. While this is a small sample group, it does indicate a possible correlation between metabolic disorder and zinc deficiency.
Zinc’s Use in Maintaining Metabolism
This metal is used by the body in a number of ways, a few of which are related to maintaining a healthy metabolism and blood sugar levels. Zinc is involved in insulin synthesis in the pancreas and seems to enhance the function of insulin. It is also used by the body to help protect beta cells from being destroyed or damaged.
Low levels of zinc present in prediabetics could indicate a number of things regarding metabolism. The body may be suffering for a lack of zinc, it may be using more zinc than usual to try and maintain healthy blood sugar levels, it could even have difficulty metabolizing zinc from the food you eat. So, there is certainly a lot more research to be done to explore this connection.
Foods With Zinc
There are certainly proven benefits of eating zinc to help your body stay strong and fight off cold symptoms. If you are interested in increasing your zinc intake, consider eating more foods containing this mineral. Good amounts of zinc can be found in:
- beef
- pork
- lamb
- nuts
- whole grains
- legumes
- yeast
[expand title=”References“]
Low zinc levels could be associated with prediabetes risk. URL Link. Accessed November 3rd, 2017.
Zinc in diet. URL Link. Accessed November 3rd, 2017.
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