Favorable effects on metabolic risk factors with daily brewer’s yeast in type 2 diabetic patients with hypercholesterolemia: A semi‐experimental study

Background:  The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of brewer’s yeast on plasma glucose and lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods:  The present semi‐experimental study was performed on 55 T2D patients with hypercholesterolemia. All patients received 12 tablets of 300 mg yeast per day for 8 weeks. Each tablet contained 1.2 μg chromium. Fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol (HDL–C), low‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol (LDL–C), and triglyceride levels were measured at baseline and then again at Weeks 4 and 8. Results:  Although there was a tendency for plasma glucose levels to decrease at Week 4, the difference failed to reach statistical significance ( P  =   0.065). However, after 8 weeks, the decrease in plasma glucose was significant ( P  =   0.043). Again, although there was a tendency for decreased plasma cholesterol at Week 8 compared with baseline, the difference failed to reach statistical significance (215 ± 29 vs 226 ± 37 mg/dL, respectively; P  =   0.056). Brewer’s yeast significantly decreased plasma triglyceride and LDL–C levels at Weeks 4 and 8. In contrast, plasma HDL–C levels were significantly increased at both 4 and 8 weeks compared with baseline (41.3 ± 8.8 and 43.3 ± 7.5 vs 36 ± 5 mg/dL, respectively; P  <   0.01 and P  <   0.01, respectively). Conclusion:  In conclusion, the consumption of brewer’s yeast over a period of 8 weeks may improve cardiometabolic risk factors in T2D patients. However, these findings need to be confirmed in a large double‐blind clinical trial.