Chromium-rich brewer's yeast has been shown to be useful in treating type 2 diabetes in several ways, including by improving glucose tolerance.
Medical reports dating back to 1853, as well as modern research, indicate that chromium-rich brewer's yeast (9 grams per day) can be useful in treating type 2 diabetes. In recent years, chromium has been shown to improve glucose levels and related variables in people with glucose intolerance and type 2, gestational, and steroid-induced diabetes. Improved glucose tolerance with lower or similar levels of insulin have been reported in more than ten trials of chromium supplementation in people with varying degrees of glucose intolerance. Chromium supplements improve glucose tolerance in people with type 2 diabetes, apparently by increasing sensitivity to insulin. Chromium improves the processing of glucose in people with prediabetic glucose intolerance and in women with diabetes associated with pregnancy. Chromium even helps healthy people, although one such report found chromium useful only when accompanied by 100 mg of niacin per day. Chromium may also lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (risk factors in heart disease).
A few trials have reported no beneficial effects from chromium supplementation. All of these trials used 200 mcg or less of supplemental chromium, which is often not adequate for people with diabetes, especially if it is in a form that is poorly absorbed. The typical amount of chromium used in research trials is 200 mcg per day, although as much as 1,000 mcg per day has been used. Many doctors recommend up to 1,000 mcg per day for people with diabetes.
Supplementation with chromium or brewer's yeast could potentially enhance the effects of drugs used for diabetes (e.g., insulin or other blood sugar-lowering agents) and possibly lead to hypoglycemia. Therefore, people with diabetes taking these medications should supplement with chromium or brewer's yeast only under the supervision of a doctor.