Effect of Eight Weeks of Yoga Training and Zinc Supplementation on the Levels of Interleukin-1 and C-reactive Protein in Women with Type II Diabetes

IL-1 beta (IL-1β) is an inflammatory cytokine, the high levels of which cause insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of eight weeks of yoga training and consumption of zinc sulfate supplement on the levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with type 2 diabetes.
In this study, 32 women with type 2 diabetes (age: 43.18±6.34 years and body mass index: 31.83±4.00 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to four groups of yoga training, zinc sulfate supplementation, combination, and control. The yoga-training program included two 70-minute sessions per week during eight weeks. The supplement group consumed 220 mg of zinc sulfate once a day. The combined group both practiced yoga and consumed zinc sulfate supplementation for eight weeks. Blood samples were drawn to measure the levels of serum glucose, insulin, IL-1β, and CRP at two stages of pre- and post-intervention. One-way analysis of variance was used for inter-group comparisons in SPSS software.
The results showed that after eight weeks, there was a significant difference in the mean levels of glucose (P=0.000), IL-1β (P=0.001), and CRP (P=0.000) between the experimental and control groups. However, insulin (P=0.23) and insulin resistance (0.29) did not show any significant difference between the groups.
According to our results, yoga training, consumption of zinc supplement, and their combination could lower the levels of IL-1β, CRP, and glucose. Supplement consumption elevated insulin level and diminished insulin resistance. Thus, zinc supplementation could be considered for the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients.