Tagatose, weight and cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes
What it found
In eight people with type 2 diabetes taking tagatose for a year, body weight dropped and good cholesterol rose.
Gut side effects were mostly mild and short lived.
What they found
Studies in people
Weight loss over 12 months
Average body weight fell from 108.4 kg to 103.3 kg across the year. This drop was seen after three subjects were excluded for medication changes.
Good cholesterol rose
High density lipoprotein cholesterol climbed from 30.5 mg/dL at the start to 41.7 mg/dL at month 12. This was measured in six people who did not start new cholesterol medicines.
Blood sugar control marker
Glycated hemoglobin went from 10.6% to 9.6%. The authors say this fall was not statistically significant.
Gut side effects
Ten of the twelve people who started had gut side effects. These tended to be mild and temporary. No serious problems were reported during the 12 months.
What the authors conclude
- They found meaningful drops in body weight and rises in good cholesterol in this small pilot trial.
- They suggest tagatose could be a helpful addition for managing type 2 diabetes.
How it was done
Earlier work showed tagatose blunted blood sugar spikes after a glucose drink in people with type 2 diabetes. It also cut food intake in healthy people and reduced weight gain in rats.
Eight people with type 2 diabetes took 15 g of tagatose by mouth three times daily with meals for 12 months. A two month run in period came first. Twelve people started the trial but three were later left out because their diabetes medicines changed.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- Only eight people finished the study, so the results might not apply to everyone with type 2 diabetes.
- There was no comparison group taking a dummy pill, so some changes might have happened anyway.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA
The paper
- Title
- Dietary supplementation with d-tagatose in subjects with type 2 diabetes leads to weight loss and raises high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- Type
- Clinical trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Donner TW, Magder LS, Zarbalian K (2010). Dietary supplementation with d-tagatose in subjects with type 2 diabetes leads to weight loss and raises high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.). doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2010.09.007PubMed 21147362DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error