Adults with higher levels of plasma strontium were less likely to have type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose regulation than those with smaller amounts, according to findings published in Clinical Nutrition.

“Strontium is one of the ubiquitous trace elements in nature and human tissues,” Frank Hu, MD, MPH, PhD, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Liegang Liu, of the department of nutrition and food hygiene at Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, and colleagues wrote. “Strontium appears to be involved in antioxidation and adipose metabolism, which have been implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, strontium might be a potential contributor to the treatment of diabetes.”