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Cinnamon and Bitter Melon for reducing fasting levels
- Thread starter xyzzy
- Start Date
Lemonie
Well-Known Member
I would like to start trying the cinnamon to see the effects on my BG but after reading the thread am a bit confused. I like the idea of the tsp of cinnamon in a tbsp of honey. Would the honey not shoot my BG up being sweet (apologies if this is a stupid question). Is any honey ok? Do I need to buy american cinnamon, cinnamon from an Indian supplier and grind it myself or cassia?
Sorry for all the questions :|
Sorry for all the questions :|
Hi all, I've been taking ground cinnamon on my weetabix for breakfast for the last five weeks as part of a concerted effort to drive down my blood sugar along with reducing my carbs and starting an exercise regime. My consultant threatened me with insulin control instead of tablets for my T2! Over these five weeks I've reduced my weekly average from 9.5 to 5.0 so I would definitely reccomend giving it a go! I don't measure how much cinnamon I put on, I just give them a good sprinkle!
I've only been diagnosed about 4 weeks now and I'm on 1000mg Metformin Slow Release. As well as that I began taking Chromium 200mg per day for help with insulin support and L-Tyrosine 500mg per day for depression, mood and carb cravings.
I'm feeling a definite lack of cravings for carbs and sweet things which is a great help in controlling my carb and sugar intake and also gives my poor digestive tract the rest it deserves and needs! I was never a big carb eater but didn't eat enough protein, but now I'm eating more protein and fruit and veg fibre and less carbs and finding my digestion a lot better than it has been for years and I feel my energy returning, albeit very slowly.
My morning fasting readings have come down from 11 to 6.2 - whether that's down to the Metformin or the supplements or a combination of both, I don't know, but I do know I had the motivation and the energy to get up and strip my bed and put a load of washing in the machine today and still had energy left over to hang it out to dry.
Diabetes is a horrible condition in that it robs us of energy and I think also for some of us, self esteem. For years I've berated myself for being 'lazy' and I've forced myself until I dropped, believing that because doctors found nothing abnormal in my blood tests, that I must be imagining things or not driving myself hard enough. The other aspect is the weight issue and diabetes. It's often said that being overweight is a contributing factor towards developing diabetes but I think it's a SYMPTOM of UNDETECTED diabetes, not a cause of it. And I think that comes from the fact that if diabetes is undetected, our body is not converting food to energy and therefore, the body signals the brain to tell us we're still hungry and so we eat more, this extra food doesn't convert to energy so we eat more and so the vicious circle leads to obesity not the other way round.
I resembled a stick insect when I first began over 20 years ago complaining of weight loss, exhaustion, digestive problems, thirst, passing excessive urine - yet diabetes wasn't detected and I was treated for everything else under the sun BUT diabetes! Since then I gradually gained weight because I didn't have the energy to walk most days, never mind do any exercise for pleasure. And I can still remember the looks and the comments from people about the fact that if I lost weight I'd feel better about myself. The problem wasn't overeating as such, it was lack of insulin or lack of insulin metabolisation.
Perhaps when DOCTORS themselves understand diabetes a bit more, they'll think about reducing the pass/fail level of the tests they perform for it so that it IS detected earlier, before it does a lot more damage than it needs to before it's detected. Maybe I'm a bit thick, but it seems to me that if the Department of Health can advise us that there are 850,000 people walking around with undetected diabetes, then they MUST KNOW that they HAVE diabetes in the first place - so WHY ARE THEY NOT DETECTING IT? Is it for financial reasons? Or has it just not dawned on them that maybe they're setting the bar a bit high where BG levels are concerned?
I'd welcome others views on this please.
I'm feeling a definite lack of cravings for carbs and sweet things which is a great help in controlling my carb and sugar intake and also gives my poor digestive tract the rest it deserves and needs! I was never a big carb eater but didn't eat enough protein, but now I'm eating more protein and fruit and veg fibre and less carbs and finding my digestion a lot better than it has been for years and I feel my energy returning, albeit very slowly.
My morning fasting readings have come down from 11 to 6.2 - whether that's down to the Metformin or the supplements or a combination of both, I don't know, but I do know I had the motivation and the energy to get up and strip my bed and put a load of washing in the machine today and still had energy left over to hang it out to dry.
Diabetes is a horrible condition in that it robs us of energy and I think also for some of us, self esteem. For years I've berated myself for being 'lazy' and I've forced myself until I dropped, believing that because doctors found nothing abnormal in my blood tests, that I must be imagining things or not driving myself hard enough. The other aspect is the weight issue and diabetes. It's often said that being overweight is a contributing factor towards developing diabetes but I think it's a SYMPTOM of UNDETECTED diabetes, not a cause of it. And I think that comes from the fact that if diabetes is undetected, our body is not converting food to energy and therefore, the body signals the brain to tell us we're still hungry and so we eat more, this extra food doesn't convert to energy so we eat more and so the vicious circle leads to obesity not the other way round.
I resembled a stick insect when I first began over 20 years ago complaining of weight loss, exhaustion, digestive problems, thirst, passing excessive urine - yet diabetes wasn't detected and I was treated for everything else under the sun BUT diabetes! Since then I gradually gained weight because I didn't have the energy to walk most days, never mind do any exercise for pleasure. And I can still remember the looks and the comments from people about the fact that if I lost weight I'd feel better about myself. The problem wasn't overeating as such, it was lack of insulin or lack of insulin metabolisation.
Perhaps when DOCTORS themselves understand diabetes a bit more, they'll think about reducing the pass/fail level of the tests they perform for it so that it IS detected earlier, before it does a lot more damage than it needs to before it's detected. Maybe I'm a bit thick, but it seems to me that if the Department of Health can advise us that there are 850,000 people walking around with undetected diabetes, then they MUST KNOW that they HAVE diabetes in the first place - so WHY ARE THEY NOT DETECTING IT? Is it for financial reasons? Or has it just not dawned on them that maybe they're setting the bar a bit high where BG levels are concerned?
I'd welcome others views on this please.
Oh how right you are. We believe my mother had diabetes for many years before she was diagnosed even though she had frequent visits to the GP with symptoms relating to the condition. They just put it down to being overweight. Luckily my surgery is so forward thinking and I've had yearly tests for everything since my blood pressure needed drugs to lower it. Hence they have picked up my rising blood sugar levels. Trouble is the diabetic nurse doesn't know what she is talking about. You only have to read the posts on this forum to see how hit and miss the care and advice you get is.
xyzzy
Well-Known Member
Ube1963 said:
Welcome Ube.
The honest response is to say that cutting your carbs is probably ten times the reason you are seeing your levels drop rather than taking up cinnamon. The research does tend to show cinnamon helps buts no more than say Metformin does. I take cinnamon as well and think that on top of my low carb regime it reduces my levels by around 0.5mmol/l . You also need to be aware that too much cinnamon can cause stomach problems. If you read back through this thread you'll come across that discussion. For that reason I limit to around 2 grams a day.
andrew_333
Active Member
I am interested in taking Gymnema and have just come across this on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swanson-Gymnema-Sylvestre-400mg-Capsules/dp/B002N62G3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346349322&sr=8-1
Is this the real deal? If it is it's fantastic value
Edit: forget that - I've just looked at the Puritanspride uk website and they are offering four free tubs if you buy two!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swanson-Gymnema-Sylvestre-400mg-Capsules/dp/B002N62G3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346349322&sr=8-1
Is this the real deal? If it is it's fantastic value
Edit: forget that - I've just looked at the Puritanspride uk website and they are offering four free tubs if you buy two!
xyzzy
Well-Known Member
andrew_333 said:
Yes Puritans is usually loads cheaper. It takes around 10 days as they will be shipped from the States and sometimes you may get caught by customs so expect to pay an extra 15% or so but that still means they are by far the cheapest for Gymnema. If you ever decide to take CoQ10 then you can buy 600 caps from Puritans for the same money as 30 caps from Holland and Barrett. I have ordered 4 times from Puritans and their service level is excellent. The only thing I've found cheaper than Puritans is Chia Seed which you can get off eBay for around half the price of Puritans.
Thanks for the welcome xyzzy! I haven't had any stomach problems with the cinnamon but I had already seen some of the other posts so I was aware of the potential! I'll be happy if I can maintain the 5.0 mmol average and, hopefully, I'll be able to reduce my medication when I see my GP the week after next!
andrew_333
Active Member
I'm extremely interested in this and would like to try some supplements I've found Gymnema on the Puritan Pride website, and cinnamon complex (1000mg cinnamon and 200mg chromium picolinate - any good?). I haven't had as much luck finding reasonably priced bitter lemon capsules. Can someone with more experience give me some advice? THANKS!!
It would also be interesting to hear some more updates from people who are using these supplements
It would also be interesting to hear some more updates from people who are using these supplements
))Denise((
Well-Known Member
I get my bitter melon from AllStar Nutrition
