A cocktail of supplements

[Ardbeg]

I'm not sure if this is posted in the appropriate section, but if not I'm sure the mods will move it accordingly.

As a recently diagnosed T2 (diet only) I'm keen to pro actively assist my quest to lower my BG and cholesterol.

After much research and monitoring of this forum I've decided to take the following supplements:

1. Benfetamine

2. Acai berry

3. Hi strength omega three capsules

I know for many they think that vitamin supplements are a waste of money and just result in expensive pee, but I'm prepared to try them if it will delay or prevent my reliance on prescribed drugs.

My question; is this a sensible selection of supplements to take, do others on here take any or all of these too and finally, does anyone recommend I consider taking any others.

Thanks.

 

[Patch]

I know what you mean about peoples view of vitamins, but I'm getting on really well with them. I take:

ONE high strength Vitamin D capsule a day (50,000IU - that's NOT a typo!)
AT LEAST 5,000mg of Vitamin C a day (as Ascorbic Acid disolved in water)

I also drink LOTS of MSM water (made by disolving 5 tsp MSM powder in 2L water). MSM makes cells more elastic - very dsirable in T2 Diabetes!

I'm also taking 2 tblsp of Flaxseed Oil in 4 tblsp of cottage cheese. The combination of high doses of Vitamin C along with Omega 3 (flax) is known to reduce trigycerides and total cholesterol. I hope this is true... (I've stopped taking my statins - so I'm bu99ered if it's not! :| )

Canyou tell me which high strength omega 3 capsules you are taking, and if you think they are effective? What kind of dosage of these are you on?

 

[Ardbeg]

Hi Patch,

I'm actually about to order them today. Haven't quite decided which ones yet. I'm one of those strange individuals who actually likes the taste of cod liver oil as my mother used to spoon feed it to me as a kid.

I have a catalogue here from a company called Healthspan (just add .co.uk to the end to visit their website). They have a wide range of pills and liquids of varying strengths at a reasonable price.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Just to check - I presume that you have changed your diet and upped your exercise as the major effort to improve your health.

Obviously supplements alone will not make a radical difference to your general health and specific blood sugar control.

It might be an idea to get into your new regime without using the supplements and add the supplements later to get a better idea of how much improvement they offer.

HTH

LGC

 

[Ardbeg]

LGC,

my plan is diet first, no booze, vitamin supplements and then join the gym.

As my weight loss has levelled off at 17 stone and ideally I need to get another stone to a stone and a half off I'm joining the gym any day now.............................honest! :wink:

 

[iklpixi]

Hi Ardbeg, thanks for replying to my nervous breakdown this morning...i'm at work but can't concentrate on anything except trying to find ways of taking a bit of control back in my fight against retinopathy......

I'll be closing following your responses to see others experiences of all these supplements - guess i need to know from peeps where's best to source these things (best value for money, etc) & do they work....

and yes you do detect a west of scotland accent in me by the way, with a name like ardbeg am i to assume the same of you???

cheeri

 

[benniesmum]

Hi all,

I've been T2 for a year now, and have got my BG down from (fasting) 17.9 to around 5.5. That's with a moderately low carb diet and 3x500mg metformin. Having tried a variety of supplements, the ones that appear to work best for me are a Quest mega multi vit and a 30mg coenzyme Q10 every evening. The Q10 knocked a whole 1 point off the BG within 2 weeks!

 

[IanD]

I have tried cinnamon & karela supplements that are claimed to benefit diabetics.

Cinnamon had no effect & karela appeared to have a negative effect. Reducing carb had a massive effect.

I now take a multivitamin/mineral supplement, simply to ensure that I do have an adequate range of vitamins & minerals as the land has been grossly abused to overproduce.

I also take a fish-oil supplement for the claimed heart benefits.

I have had muscle & joint problems, & find glucosamine compounds have a very positive benefit. When I ran out, I soon noticed resultant leg pains.

3x500 mg MF completes the 'cocktail.'

 

[williams89]

Patch

WARNING 5000 mg vitamin C is far too much. 250 mg daily is plenty. You are at risk of causing kidney damage on 5000mg daily. Check this out with your doctor before maintaining anything higher than 250mg. PLEASE. GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR TELL HIM/HER YOU ARE NO LONGER TAKING STATINS!

BE HAPPY

 

[hanadr]

At various times, I've tried supplements, but I'm not good at sticking to it. Vitamin d3 isthe exception. I keep the pot on the shelf above the kitchen table and take about 5 when I remember to do so. I also have a multivitamin pot, which I do the same.
I eat fresh home cooked food, so I'm probably not very deficient in anything anyway.
Iexercise regularly. Walking, water exercises and the gym. Something of at least an hour's duration every weekday. Weekends are less active as T1 husband is around and has limited walking ability.
Hana

 

[Ardbeg]

Hi Ardbeg, yes you do detect a west of scotland accent in me by the way, with a name like ardbeg am i to assume the same of you???

cheeri

Correct. Born and bred in North Lanarkshire.

 

[Patch]

Patch

WARNING 5000 mg vitamin C is far too much. 250 mg daily is plenty. You are at risk of causing kidney damage on 5000mg daily. Check this out with your doctor before maintaining anything higher than 250mg. PLEASE. GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR TELL HIM/HER YOU ARE NO LONGER TAKING STATINS!

BE HAPPY

Rubbish. Evidence shows that higher doses of Vit C can actually help prevent kidney disease. Evidence also shows that high doses of Vit C combined with fish oil/flax oil (Omega 3) lowers Trigs and total Cholesterol.

Good news for me.

 

[williams89]

Patch

WARNING 5000 mg vitamin C is far too much. 250 mg daily is plenty. You are at risk of causing kidney damage on 5000mg daily. Check this out with your doctor before maintaining anything higher than 250mg. PLEASE. GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR TELL HIM/HER YOU ARE NO LONGER TAKING STATINS!

BE HAPPY

Rubbish. Evidence shows that higher doses of Vit C can actually help prevent kidney disease. Evidence also shows that high doses of Vit C combined with fish oil/flax oil (Omega 3) lowers Trigs and total Cholesterol.

Good news for me.

I was only trying to be helpful and apologise if I have offended you. When you talk to your doctor about my comments it may be that for you 5000mg is ok. To stop taking statins without informing your GP is unwise. Please read only my best intentions.
BE HAPPY

 

[williams89]

For Patch

The current Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 60 mg/day, a number originally set in 1980 and reviewed in 1989 by the Food and Nutrition Board, a part of the National Academy of Sciences. The RDA is based on the amount of vitamin C needed to prevent scurvy, a potentially fatal disease marked by fatigue and bleeding. "We need to think not just about deficiency, which has been the starting point for recommended daily allowances," Levine says, "but about a variety of other scientific factors, such as how much vitamin C is concentrated in blood and tissue when a person takes a specific amount, how much is excreted in urine, what the beneficial and adverse effects are."

When the subjects in Levine's study received 30 mg, most reported feeling tired and irritable. At 200 mg, blood plasma had more than 80 percent maximal concentration of vitamin C and tissues were completely saturated. At doses of 500 mg and higher, there was excess vitamin C that was completely excreted in urine. At 1,000 mg, some volunteers showed high levels of oxalate and uric acid in their urine, which might lead to kidney stones.

I do hope you find this useful.
BE HAPPY

 

[Patch]

I've done a lot of research into this - and can remember reading what you've cut and pasted above. However - this does not state what is meant by high levels of oxalate and uric acid. I've also read that where high levels of oxalate and uric acid are present in a persons urine, that the level is STILL not outside of the normal range for a healthy person.

Doses up to 10 grams have shown to be associated with a higher prevalence of oxalate excretion, but the level does not fall outside of the normal range.

Thanks for your help - but I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing based on my own research. I'd be keen to read anything you can point me in the direction of that may help me. (Bear in mind that I've got a folder in my Internet Favourites FULL of Vitamin C articles! :wink: )

Anyone interested in this should Google:

Linus Pauling
The GAA Theory

Type 2's should DEFINITELY research this themselves. PM me for info.

 

[phoenix]

I assume Patch that in your file you have a reference to the Vitamin C page on the present day Linus Pauling institute page .
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/

This is what they say about Kidney stones and large doses of vit C.


Kidney Stones

Because oxalate is a metabolite of vitamin C, there is some concern that high vitamin C intake could increase the risk of oxalate kidney stones. Some (111-113), but not all (114-116), studies have reported that supplemental vitamin C increases urinary oxalate levels. Whether any increase in oxalate levels would translate to an elevation in risk for kidney stones has been examined in epidemiological studies. Two large prospective studies, one following 45,251 men for six years and the other following 85,557 women for 14 years, reported that consumption of ≥1,500 mg of vitamin C daily did not increase the risk of kidney stone formation compared to those consuming <250 mg daily. However, a more recent prospective study that followed 45,619 men for 14 years found that those who consumed ≥1,000 mg/day of vitamin C had a 41% higher risk of kidney stones compared to men consuming <90 mg of vitamin C daily—the current recommended dietary allowance (see RDA; (117)). In this study, low intakes (90-249 mg/day) of vitamin C (primarily from the diet) were also associated with a significantly elevated risk. Supplemental vitamin C intake was only weakly associated with increased risk of kidney stones in this study (117). Despite conflicting results, it may be prudent for individuals predisposed to oxalate kidney stone formation to avoid high-dose vitamin C supplementation

 

[Patch]

How do I find out if I'm predisposed to kidney stone formation????

 

[phoenix]

These are possible risk factors rather than predisposition ( a family history might suggest that)
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kidney-stones/DS00282/DSECTION=risk-factors

 

[Ehlana]

I have found Chromium a very good supplement to take for reduction of BS - it seems to also help with carb cravings and maintaining your levels.

Green tea seems to help as well.

 

[noblehead]

I have found Chromium a very good supplement to take for reduction of BS - it seems to also help with carb cravings and maintaining your levels.

Green tea seems to help as well.

Love green tea, have about 2-3 mugs a day.

Nigel