Zinc and diabetes mellitus: is there a need of zinc supplementation in diabetes mellitus patients?

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders, the incidence of which varies widely throughout the world. The treatment of diabetes mellitus includes insulin, oral antidiabetic agents, and dietary regimens. Although the emphasis is on macronutrients intakes, there is strong evidence that there is an abnormal metabolism of several micronutrients in diabetic individuals. Zinc is one of the essential micronutrients of which status and metabolism is altered in this condition. This work is a short review about the close relation among zinc, glucose metabolism, and insulin physiology, as well as about the few experimental data about zinc absorption and zinc supplementation in diabetes mellitus patients.