Biotin Reduces Risk of Heart Disease in Diabetics
People with diabetes are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, especially if blood sugar levels are poorly controlled. Research evidence suggests that biotin and chromium may help improve cholesterol profiles as well as support better blood-glucose management. Combined, these nutrients may be a beneficial adjuvant therapy to conventional treatments to reduce the risks of heart disease in patients with type-2 diabetes. Abnormal lipid metabolism is commonly found in diabetic patients, and contributes to the increased risk of heart disease these patients have.40, 46-47
Biotin and Chromium Lowers Cholesterol in Diabetics on Statins
In a 90-day double-blind clinical trial involving 348 diabetics with poorly controlled glucose levels (HbA1c of 7% or more), participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a combination of 600 µg of chromium and 2 mg of biotin. Twice as many participants were given the biotin/chromium supplementation as those placed in the placebo group, and no adverse effects were noted in any of the treated group. When lipid profiles for the entire biotin/chromium treatment group were analyzed as a whole there were no significant changes in levels noted. Conversely, in a secondary analysis of only those study participants who also had high cholesterol and were taking statin medication to lower it, the biotin/chromium treatment group showed significant reductions in LDL, VLDLs, and total cholesterol levels.46
Biotin Lowers Triglycerides in Diabetics and Non-Diabetics
Another smaller, 28-day clinical trial the effects of biotin on lipids was examined in both diabetic and non-diabetic adults. Study participants were randomly assigned to either a placebo group or a test group 61.4 µmol/day of biotin. Results demonstrated that biotin significantly reduced triglyceride and VLDL levels in both diabetics and non-diabetics, with more pronounced decreases in the non-diabetic participants. This dosage level of biotin, by itself, did not have any significant impact on total cholesterol, glucose, or insulin, but results suggest that biotin could help in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia.45
Biotin and Chromium Reduces the Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) in Diabetics
Combination treatment with biotin and chromium picolinate may decrease the risk of heart disease for diabetics by improving the ratio of triglycerides to high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). This ratio is referred to as the atherogenic index of plasma, and is indicative of plaque development in the arteries. As such, AIP corresponds to heart disease risk - higher AIP correlates to a greater risk of heart disease while lower AIP numbers correlates to decreased risk.47
Large and small placebo-controlled clinical trials demonstrated that supplementation with biotin and chromium significantly reduced AIP for overweight, moderately obese, and obese study participants. One of these was a 90-day randomized clinical trial involving 447 overweight to obese adults with poorly controlled type-2 diabetes conducted in 17 different sites across the United States. Compared to baseline measurements taken at the beginning of the trial, the biotin/chromium treatment group showed a -0.13 (±0.25) reduction in AIP, while the placebo group had a 0.52 (±0.30) increase in AIP. Participants of Hispanic ethnicity had modestly greater reductions in this study.40, 47
A smaller 4-week randomized study of 36 moderately obese type-2 diabetic patients with poor glucose control demonstrated similar results with biotin/chromium supplementation. Compared to placebo and baseline measurements, the treated group's AIP was significantly lower than the placebo group.47