Researchers from Sri Lanka studied 96 people with diabetes, dividing them into two groups. One group took a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement and 22 mg of zinc sulfate. The other group took the daily supplement but not the zinc. After four months, those taking the extra zinc had a 42% greater drop in blood sugar levels than those just taking the multivitamin/mineral supplement.

Two hundred and ninety-eight patients with lower abdominal symptoms diagnosed as IBS were prescribed the compound Symbioflor(R)-2 (Symbiopharm GmbH, Herborn, Germany), an Escherichia coli product (N=148), or placebo (n=150) for 8 weeks in a double-blinded, randomized fashion. Patients were seen weekly by the physician, who assessed the presence of core IBS symptoms. Both an abdominal pain score (APS) as well as a general symptom score (GSS) were used as primary endpoints. Responders had to have complete absence of IBS core symptoms at >/=1 visit during treatment.

In a placebo-controlled study involving 21 healthy men and women, supplementation with fish oil (DHA plus EPA—the 2 main oils in fish oil) improved heart muscle efficiency. The subjects received 2 g/day DHA + 3 g/day EPA or placebo for a period of 6 weeks. The fish oil group had increased heart stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO). The authors of the study concluded "DHA + EPA-induced increases in SV and CO imply that dietary supplementation with these fatty acids can increase oxygen delivery during exercise, which may have beneficial clinical implications for individuals with cardiovascular disease and reduced exercise tolerance."1

There are plenty of easy (and delicious) ways to get the proper nutrition you need, which I talk about in this article.