 In 1854, a case report was published in the precursor of the British Medical Journal, suggesting 2 to 3 tablespoons of Brewer's yeast every day could cure diabetes within six weeks. But it took another 150 years before it was finally put to the test. Now randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial of about a half of a teaspoon of Brewer's yeast a day for three months. What happened? A significant drop in fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c, as well as an improvement in insulin sensitivity. What do these numbers mean, though? Hemoglobin A1c is a measure of how higher blood sugar has been over time. Under 6 means you've been having normal blood sugar. Between 6 and 6.5 means you have pre-diabetes, and anything over 6.5 means you have diabetes. Now you can have well-controlled diabetes, or way out of controlled diabetes, but anything over 6.5 is considered diabetic. In the study, the placebo group started up at around 9, stayed up around 9, but the Brewer's yeast group dropped from 9 to 8. So the placebo group was stuck up at 9, and the yeast group dropped from 9 down to 8. So they weren't cured, but in three months' time, they were able to achieve significantly better diabetic control, just eating a half a teaspoon of Brewer's yeast a day, which would cost about four pennies a day, four cents a day. What about for just seven weeks? Again, a total of about a half a teaspoon of Brewer's yeast a day. Started out with an A1c level of 8. The placebo appeared to help a bit, but the yeast even more. From 8 down to an almost non-diabetic 6.6, that's amazing. How could it be? Well, the drug industry has been trying for decades to discover the so-called glucose-tolerance factor in yeast. After all, no shareholder is going to be happy with the therapy you can buy for only four cents a day. We know that whatever it is in yeast that's doing, it contains the trace mineral chromium. Well, can you just give chromium supplements alone? Just giving straight chromium does not appear to be particularly effective. Might the special fiber in yeast, the beta-glucans, play a role? Supplementation with the amount of beta-glucan found in 2 to 3 teaspoons of Brewer's yeast a day did result in a slimmer waist and a drop in blood pressure within six weeks. They trimmed about an inch off their waist, despite no significant change in caloric intake. Blood pressures were significantly reduced as well, in effect also seen with whole Brewer's yeast. Just a half teaspoon of Brewer's yeast a day led to a significant drop in high blood pressure, which, incidentally, is a key contributor to the cardiovascular and kidney complications of diabetes.