Research

Hormonal

Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 supplementation does not significantly improve glycemic control (HbA1c) or insulin sensitivity in the general population of patients with type 2 diabetes on insulin therapy, although it may improve insulin sensitivity in a specific subgroup with high baseline gut microbiota diversity.

Taking Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (10^8 to 10^10 CFU daily for 12 weeks) will not lower your HbA1c or improve insulin sensitivity if you have type 2 diabetes, unless you already have a highly diverse gut microbiome. For most patients, this probiotic offers no metabolic advantage over a placebo.

GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Intake of L. reuteri DSM 17938 for 12 weeks did not affect HbA1c in patients with type 2 diabetes on insulin therapy. However, L. reuteri improved insulin sensitivity in a subset of patients and we propose that high diversity of the gut microbiota at baseline may be important.
Reza Mobini et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2016

Why this rating

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, though limited by small sample size (n=46) and lack of statistical significance in between-group analysis for secondary endpoints.

Source

Metabolic effects of <i> <scp>L</scp> actobacillus reuteri </i> <scp>DSM</scp> 17938 in people with type 2 diabetes: <scp>A</scp> randomized controlled trial

Reza Mobini et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2016

DOI 10.1111/dom.12861

rct · n=46Cited 266×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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