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48 down to 43 is 3 months with herbal Amla

Ricky

Well-Known Member
Messages
297
Location
Merseyside
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
My HbA1c was creeping up yet again in August '18 and I thought this time it will have to be meds. I did a load of research and found Amla https://nutritionfacts.org/video/amla-versus-diabetes/ (this is the short version as I read the research paper).

So August '18 I was 48 , started Amla at 1/4 teaspoon a day and a fortnight later 47.
3 months later 43. Result!!!!!!

I am going to continue it. I now take 1/2 teaspoon but may well increase this. I am on a permanent low carb/low GI diet + exercise for my inherited Type 2 . The whole family have it on my father's side and I'm the only one who has managed to stay off meds so far. No one is obese, My father was skinny as is my sister.

Has anyone else managed on herbal supplements?
 
I used cinnamon capsules for a while and they seemed to help, but honestly I was all over the place at the time and the benefits could just as easily have been associated with the wind direction.

But that’s not to dismiss your experience. I’m very open minded and would always encourage experimentation outside of pharmaceuticals
 
I'd always be very careful of anything coming from nutrition "facts" but that's because I think Dr Greger is a bit of a fraud with a highly politicised agenda...
 
Jim Lahey said:
I used cinnamon capsules for a while and they seemed to help, but honestly I was all over the place at the time and the benefits could just as easily have been associated with the wind direction.
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I've taken cinnamon for many years sprinkled on my home made muesli in the morning
 
bulkbiker said:
I'd always be very careful of anything coming from nutrition "facts" but that's because I think Dr Greger is a bit of a fraud with a highly politicised agenda...
Click to expand...
I actually read the full research paper on this which was nothing to do with Dr Greger. I just gave that link as an easy to understand version for those not used to reading full research papers with all the statistical data as they can be off putting to read.

You've done well with your diet and the reason you have got your numbers down is because you have managed to lose a lot of weight. I haven't got that weight to lose and could never do fasting with all the exercise I do. I admire you. I do low carb/low GI and do not cut out fats .
 
I think quite a few of us are very used to reading full research papers.. could you provide a link to it at all?
Thanks for your kind words. Fasting and exercise are fairly well matched in many... although I am personally extremely lazy by nature. Most of the ketogenic people I align with exercise in a fasted state and get amazing results.
 
bulkbiker said:
I think quite a few of us are very used to reading full research papers.. could you provide a link to it at all?
.
Click to expand...
I am trying to find links for you:-
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._normal_subjects_and_type_2_diabetic_patients

Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2011 Sep;62(6):609-16. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2011.560565. Epub 2011 Apr 18.
Effect of Amla fruit (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) on blood glucose and lipid profile of normal subjects and type 2 diabetic patients.
Akhtar MS1, Ramzan A, Ali A, Ahmad M.

I am not sure if either of these are the original links I found. All I remember was about the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 teaspoon of Amla and that is what I can't find.
 
Thanks will have a read..
 
DavidGrahamJones said:
Just out of interest. What do you use to get your HbA1c?
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The diabetic nurse at my doctor's practice gives me a form to take to a local clinic to have a blood test done. Why is there another way? In August she didn't like the 48 and said it was guidelines to have another taken in a fortnight . That was 47 but I had already begun the Amla. She then wanted another done after 3 months I presume I will now be off the hook for another year but I will ask for another in 6 months.
 
Ricky said:
Why is there another way?
Click to expand...

Yes, there are kits available and going private. I was interested that you had them two weeks apart. As the HbA1c represents the previous 8 to 12 weeks, a second HbA1c after 2 weeks would represent 6 to 10 weeks being exactly the same as before.

Plus I'm not lucky enough to be able to ask for an HbA1c, I get "invited", although to be honest every 6 months is adequate and even annually.
 
DavidGrahamJones said:
I was interested that you had them two weeks apart. As the HbA1c represents the previous 8 to 12 weeks, a second HbA1c after 2 weeks would represent 6 to 10 weeks being exactly the same as before.

.
Click to expand...
To be honest those were exactly my thoughts!! She actually said NICE guidelines. Maybe if you are on the border for Metformin they want to check. When she got the result that it was 47 this time she said that as my diet and lifestyle (presumably the amount of exercise I do) were good she wouldn't consider Metformin for me!! Well that suited me fine!!!!!!
 
@Ricky
Interesting article but a bit of a shame they mixed up the T2 with those on meds and dietary control possibly being put into the same groups which could be a bit of a confounder. I know that some claim that Apple Cider Vinegar can lower post prandial blood sugar but only after a carb heavy meal. As most here don't eat carb heavy meals it may not be so effective.
Also no real mention of what the dietary therapy being used was.
Pretty good triglyceride lowering results though..
Interesting thanks.
 
Hi @Ricky

Great HB1aC result.

I started adding amla to my kefir twice a day after you posted about it on another thread. I also have noticed a drop in blood sugars. Not huge but I don't get that many 7s now and my post meal spikes are flatter.

Because I have a 'clapped out ' pancreas I can only eat 20g carbs max a day and to get all the vitamins and mineral I might need I try to pack in as much low carb veggies as I can possibly eat. Even berries are out the question so it's great to find a fruit that doesn't spike my bg. and even better that it seems to lower my bgs.

I love the very tart taste - it's a real treat for me and I like the idea that I am getting extra vitamin C and potassium - especially as I don't take vitamin pills. Not because I don't believe in taking vitamin pills but because I am hoping that I can get everything I need from food.

Apart from the slightly lowered BS I have noticed a sudden and significant improvement in gum health - possibly because of the extra vitamin C.
 
If you don’t mind me asking, what are the ingredients of your home made muesli? I know you’re aware of low carb, but muesli seems like a suboptimal breakfast with which to start the day if you’re trying to get your HbA1c down. Even if it’s made of mostly nuts. Sorry if I’m teaching you to suck eggs (no pun intended). Just curious, as eggs would be a far better way to wake up without raising your glucose too much
 
As the HbA1c is an average, a fall of 1mmol is not significant even given that there was a 2 weeks gap.
Figures are rounded to the nearest full point.
 
@Ricky

How do you know it was the Amla that resulted in your drop from 47 to 43 in 3 months? It could just as easily have been your diet and exercise that did it.

I agree with @Guzzler that the drop from 48 to 47 in 2 weeks is insignificant and most likely because of the way labs round up or down, and the small error tolerance there is in HbA1c testing.

I don't think it is a new "rule" to be tested a second time after 2 weeks. It was in place when I was diagnosed 5 years ago, and happened to me. Mine actually went up by 1 point.
 
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