Proteins are necessary for tissue repair and for the construction of new tissue. Every cell needs protein to maintain its life. Protein is also the primary substance used to replace worn out or dead cells. Your muscles, hair, nails, skin, and eyes are made of protein.
Taking supplemental chromium has been shown repeatedly to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, even to the point of reversing type II diabetes in many people (1). Thus, as my old clinical nutrition professor pointed out, apparently a chromium deficiency can actually lead to type II diabetes.
By contrast, polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3) increase insulin sensitivity. Medications such as metformin, exenatide and a class of drugs called the thiazolidinediones can help improve insulin resistance. These are approved in the treatment of type 2 diabetes but not for the treatment of insulin resistance alone. Growth hormone replacement therapy, on the other hand, can be used when insulin resistance exists alone without type 2 diabetes. Magnesium supplements administered daily can restore depleted levels of magnesium which can also improve the glucose uptake from blood mediated by insulin.