Vitamins and mineral are essential for the proper functioning of the body organs. There are certain vitamins and minerals that are found beneficial in lowering blood sugar and thus useful in the treatment of diabetes.
Minerals that are found beneficial in the treatment of diabetes are as below -
Manganese - This mineral is vital in the production of natural insulin and therefore important in the treatment of diabetes. It is mainly found in citrus fruits, in the outer covering of nuts, grains and in the green leafy vegetables.
Magnesium - The magnesium loss in diabetic ketosis has been known for many years. About 38 percent of infants born to diabetic mothers have been found to be deficient in this mineral. It has also been found that children aged 5 to 18 years with well controlled type-1 diabetes have low serum magnesium values.
Magnesium also reduces the need for vitamin B6 and if it is increased in the diet, the amount of xanthurenic acid in the blood is decreased, even without vitamin B6 supplement. Moreover, magnesium is also needed to active enzymes containing vitamin B6. Blood magnesium being particularly low in diabetic, it may be reasonably inferred that diabetes can result from a combined deficiency of magnesium and vitamin B6. It may thus advisable for any person with diabetes or a family history of the disease to take at least 500 mg of magnesium and 10 mg of B6 daily.
The natural sources of this mineral are nuts, soyabean, alfalfa, almond, whole grains, apple, fig, lemon, peach, brown rice, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.
Chromium - Chromium has been found helpful in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. It stimulates insulin production in the body. Studies have also revealed that supplements of chromium control total cholesterol and triglyceride levels and raise the good or HDL cholesterol. In some diabetic patients with impaired glucose tolerance, especially children with protein malnutrition, glucose tolerance showed improvement after they were given its supplements.
The recommended daily allowance of this mineral is 50 to 100 micrograms. The natural sources of chromium are broccoli, whole grain cereals, nuts, mushrooms, black gram, betel leaves, bottle gourd, rhubarb, Bengal gram, kidney beans, soyabeans, corn oil, brewer’s yeast, pomegranate and pineapple.
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