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Supplements

Supplements For Diabetes

Dec 2, 2016

Natural supplements for diabetes: If Drugs Work Fine, Why Do We Need Supplements?

Natural supplements for diabetes are gaining popularity these days. There are ten main classes of drugs that are used today to treat Type 2 diabetes. All doctors know that these drugs come with side effects, especially with long-term use. And yet, well-meaning medical professionals put people on these drugs for life. Why?

Two simple reasons. One, the drugs are effective, either singly or in combination with others, to bring down the blood glucose as measured by lab tests. This is treated as the main parameter to judge whether you’re doing better on your diabetes. The fact that you may still end up with “complications” of diabetes – such as kidney disease or heart disease – despite the medications is not explained.

Two, most of the old medical establishment still believes that diabetes cannot be reversed; once you get it, you’re going to have it for life. The focus is therefore on “management” of the disease. If one drug fails to reduce your blood sugar parameters sufficiently, a different one, with a different mechanism, is tried. Most diabetics end up with multiple medications and many will end up needing insulin injections at later stages of the disease.

The Tough Questions…

Medical doctors who are successfully reversing diabetes, like Jason Fung M.D., are questioning both these reasons for using prescription drugs as the only way to address Type 2 diabetes.

If the drugs are effective at controlling diabetes, why do people develop complications that are associated with diabetes despite being on medication? Could it be that the blood sugar number is not the only parameter to be concerned about?

What if the way we are looking at diabetes is all wrong? If it is a disease that is purely driven by diet and lifestyle, could it be that the answer lies not in drugging you to bring down your blood sugar levels, but in making a 180-degree change in your diet and lifestyle?

And Real Answers…

Supplements for Diabetes

natural supplements for diabetes

By thinking like this, doctors who are at the cutting edge of dealing with diabetes have been able to REVERSE DIABETES (the emphasis is on purpose). These are not quacks or cheats out to make a quick buck by peddling the latest “amazing cure to come out of the Amazon forest”. These are M.Ds – who have thriving family practices, doing cutting edge research in their own clinics, who are here to stay.

Nor are they claiming that you should quit your diabetes medication cold turkey. Instead, they are proving, with more and more patients every day, that diabetes is a dietary and lifestyle disease. Diabetes can be really reversed with the right diet, the right fasting, effective weight loss, proper sleep, effective stress reduction. During the process of resetting your body back to its original, non-diabetic balance, the right dietary supplements can help ease this transition to being drug-free.

Each of the dietary supplements below has been shown in research studies to help with Type 2 diabetes. You can work with your practitioner to pick what can work best for you.

List Of Natural Supplements For Diabetes Type 2

  • Vitamin B complex
  • Alpha Lipoic Acid
  • Chromium
  • Magnesium
  • Cinnamon
  • Green Tea Extract
  • Gymnema Sylvestre
  • D-chiro-Inositol and D Pinitol
  • Berberine
  • Vitamin D3
  • Pomegranate Extract

Take Back Control

These are diabetes supplements that work. So go ahead, explore what Mother Nature has to offer. Find a gentler solution to the high blood sugar that’s been destroying your system from the inside.

Remember that several of these supplements, especially herbs like berberine and Gymnema are potent anti-diabetes agents. They are supplements to lower blood sugar naturally. Never take them indiscriminately, for they could lead to a blood sugar crash, which could be dangerous.

In consultation with your doctor, you could safely use the natural extracts, spices and vitamins to reduce the dosage of your diabetes prescription drugs, which can otherwise often have serious side effects over the medium to long term.

Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D., has the following wise advice on his website for patients wishing to try supplements for diabetes “…keep your dosages low and start with one or two rather than a whole bunch at one time. Over time you can gradually add more supplements as you become familiar on how they make you feel or influence your blood sugar.”

Write in and let us know how these or other supplements worked for your diabetes!

Mahesh Jayaraman
Mahesh is a hormone health counsellor & holistic health expert. He has a Mastery Certification in Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis from the US, is certified in Functional Nutrition from Washington State University and uses a wide array of healing modalities to guide his clients to vibrant health and well-being.

References:

1. Nutritional Medicine, Alan Gaby, M.D.

2. Alpha Lipoic Acid for Symptomatic Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients with Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

3. Gerritje S. Mijnhout, 1 ,* Boudewijn J. Kollen, 2 Alaa Alkhalaf, 1 ,3 ,4 Nanno Kleefstra, 3 ,4 ,5 and Henk J. G. Bilo 1 ,3 ,4

4. Effects of oral magnesium supplementation on glycaemic control in Type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of randomized double-blind controlled trials.

5. Song Y1, He K, Levitan EB, Manson JE, Liu S.

6. Shimizu, M. Ozeki, et al. “Suppression of glucose absorption by extracts from the leaves of Gymnema inodorum, Jpn J Pharmacol. 2001 Jun; Vol. 86(2), Pg. 223-9.

7. Treatment of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia with the natural plant alkaloid berberine. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jul;93(7):2559-65. Doi: 10.1210/jc.2007-2404. Epub 2008 Apr 8.

8. “Supplement your Prescription” Hyla Cass, M.D.

9. “My Supplement Pyramid” Michael Smith, M.D.

10. Life Extention Foundation magazine – ww.lef.com

11. Examine.com