(NC)While many people take multivitamins to promote good health and to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer, new research shows that a daily multivitamin supplement may also help to optimize the health of people with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, results in the body not producing enough insulin or the insulin not being used effectively. Insulin helps take sugar from the blood to cells in the body. Too much sugar in the system can result in damage to various parts of the body, like the eyes and the heart. A recent U.S. study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at the effect of a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement in people between the ages of 45 and 64, one-third of whom had type 2 diabetes. The results showed that those with diabetes who took a supplement were in dramatically better health in terms of fewer infections and days absent from work due to infection, than those with diabetes who did not take a supplement.

Infections included things like respiratory infections, flu and gastrointestinal infections. The researchers concluded that the positive effect on infection reduction was likely due to the influence of the supplement on any existing nutritional deficiencies the participants had, that were related to poorly controlled diabetes. They suggest that a multivitamin could be of benefit to people who are overweight, have diabetes, who may have poor nutrition or who have underlying diseases. If you're concerned about not getting an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals in your diet on a daily basis, consider taking a daily supplement like Centrum. For more information on vitamin and mineral supplementation, visit www.centrumvitamins.ca. - News Canada.