Toward a wholly nutritional therapy for type 2 diabetes

It may now be feasible to target specific supplemental nutrients to each of the key dysfunctions which conspire to maintain hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes: bioactive chromium for skeletal muscle insulin resistance, conjugated linoleic acid for adipocyte insulin resistance, high-dose biotin for excessive hepatic glucose output, and coenzyme Q(10) for beta cell failure. Nutritional strategies which disinhibit hepatic fatty acid oxidation (involving hydroxycitrate, carnitine, pyruvate, and other adjuvants) may likewise prove beneficial - in the short term, by decreasing serum free fatty acids and, in the longer term, by promoting regression of visceral obesity. The nutrients and food factors recommended here appear to be safe and well tolerated, and thus may have particular utility for diabetes prevention. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.