Dietary Supplements for T2?

[adm]

Are there any recommended (either by word of mouth or clinical trial - I'm not too fussy) dietary supplements that would be helpful in control of BG levels for T2?

I'd be interested to know anybody's thoughts about vitamins/minerals/other stuff that can be helpful...

 

[Ardbeg]

You may find this thread useful:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13751&p=131612&hilit=benfotamaine#p131612

 

[adm]

Thanks....


So there seems to be a few things that keep cropping up:

Cinammon
Glucomannan (sp?)
Acai Berry
Chromium

and now this Benfotamaine too.

Anybody know of any more? It might be possible to make up a custom formula?

 

[cugila]

The Diabetes Mind, Body and Spirit Forum has many posts discussing these supplements. Have a look there and if you need to do a search of that area using the keywords.........

I think you also mean Glucosamine ???

Ken

 

[adm]

Thanks Ken,

Some interesting reading there....

On the Gluco-whatsit...... No - I really do mean "glucomannan" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucomannan
(I have no idea if it's good for T2 or not, but it keeps coming up in the reading I'm doing)

But I already take glucosamine anyway - and condroitin and MSM - these are all for help with a musculo-skeletal problem I have that was originally caused by a paragliding accident I had many years ago. Basically, i fell out of the sky from 6,000 feet and landed on my back - now I have a lot of back and chest pain which is what actually prompted me to go to the Docs in the first place.....which is how they figured out I had T2...

 

[cugila]

Glucomannan..........after reading your link......I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole !!! :shock:

Ken

 

[adm]

I want to be clear that I'm only doing preliminary reading here and would in no way recommend any kind of supplements to anyone! After all, I've only been diagnosed T2 for the last 3 days, and am just trying to find out the best way to keep my BG levels under control....which is how I've found this most excellent forum and am probably annoying all the regulars with dumb questions

Mind you, the reported side effect of diarrhoea sounds less than a glowing endorsement anyway....

Who knows though? There's also several discussions on "Shirataki" noodles here....and it's basically the same thing...konjac root, which appears to be a well known japanese food. Although...."17 children and elderly people have died from choking on konjac since 1995"

(Wiki quote: Traditional shirataki noodles have zero net carbohydrates, zero calories, no gluten, and are useful for those on low-carbohydrate diets. Tofu-based shirataki-style noodles are becoming increasingly popular in U.S. supermarkets and health food stores. They have a much shorter shelf life and require refrigeration even before opening. Tofu-based noodles contain a minimal amount of carbohydrates)

It seems that these noodles also smell pretty bad unless you rinse them properly before using!

My jury is definitely still out on this stuff.....

 

[sugarless sue]

Just my opinion but you are better with good, natural, wholesome produce such as fresh fruit and veg from which you will get all your vitamins, minerals etc and probably save money on these sometimes over priced and exaggerated supplements.

There is no 'magic bullet' for type 2 only by controlling carb intake and blood sugar levels can we try and live with it and manage it.

Again.....just my opinion but the one that I live by.

 

[adm]

Sue - I completely agree with you. That's exactly the route I am trying to go down. The funny thing is, I normally eat only really good food - and very little in the way of processed carbs and sugar anyway. Of course, brewing beer has meant that I probably haven't had the best overall long term diet...(I've probably averaged 4-6 pints a night over the last few years)

I did have pancreatitis quite a few years ago after a burst and gangrenous appendix, so maybe that didn't help my chances either.

On the supplements, I wouldn't intend to buy any snake oil from anybody, but if there was consistent opinion on certain compounds being beneficial, then I might try and bulk buy the basics and make my own. Then test the results for efficacy. On the other hand....maybe not. Just testing the waters right now....

 

[clearviews]

Adm,

I have shirataki noodles in my pantry and use them as a regular part of my recipe selections. As I understand it the konjac root is also known as yam bean or Jicama and I now have them growing in my garden. When I can get them fresh I eat them raw with a little lime juice sprinkled on them and they are apple-like in texture, so nice after not having apples for 18 months. The vegetable and the noodles do not cause an unacceptable rise in my BGLs so they are a nice cheap treat to add to a noodle type Pho or Asian soup. The noodles are my spaghetti or rice alternative sometimes. Had not previously thought of them as being a product to bring my BGLs down! Just had to make a fresh vegetable soup pot with noodles for lunch after all that thinking!

As well as low carbing and increasing my fat intake there are quite a few supplements I take: Fish Oil - for cholesterol improvements, preventing a strong family history of vascular dementia, cognitive health & macular degeneration. Chromium Picolinate because whenever I stop taking it my BGLs creep up a little. R-ALA, EPO and biotin as I had hoped it would improve my neuropathy (most likely caused by excessive alcohol not diabetes) but as my A1c has been between 5.0 and 5.2 for the last 12 months I believe that the small improvement I have experienced is all I am going to get, so will probably discontinue those soon. I also discontinued Metformin 12 months ago (and BP and statin meds) and so far, my system seems to appreciate all of the above. :wink:

 

[clearviews]

Oh, I forgot to mention Vitamin D.
The only thing my Endo picked up on my vitamin/mineral blood tests was low Vitamin D. Now, as I have learned it can be related to diabetes, malignant melanoma, inability to tan, endometriosis, inability to lose weight, osteoporosis, peridontal disease and those are only the things I can personally or familiarly relate to. So I started supplementing with 4500 IUs a day though the Endo was puzzled as to why I would want to! Now I am taking about 6,600 IUs and my annual follow up visit to the Endo will show what my levels are in about 4 weeks.
Researched lots on this and think that a deficiency of Vitamin D leads to huge issues. If you looked at where I now live (Australia) you might wonder why I need it. So did I as a retired beach walker.
It seems that the older we get the more lacking in Vit D we are likely to be. Fact: a greater percentage of Australians over the age of 55 have lower levels of vitamin D than is considered healthy. I do try to get vitamin D from the sun as much as possible and since supplementing I find that I no longer burn when playing tennis for 2-3 hours without sun protection. How strange is that?
I realise that your original post was about supplements that lower BGLs but personally think that you can't address just one issue of diabetes as many things are inter-linked.
Alison
Alison

 

[adm]

Thanks Alison,

It looks like there are a few things that keep cropping up. But maybe to keep it simple I might start with a good quality multivitamin, keep up the the Glucosamine, Condroitin and MSM that I'm already using and add some Chromium and Omega 3. Maybe throw in some Acai Berry and try to use a bit of cinammon in my cooking.

In addition to the above I shall be on a low carb diet (I love this type of diet anyway, and have never really been a big fan of processed carbs) and get my exercise regime going properly.

I've only been on this regime (low carb diet - not supplements) and testing for the last 3 days, but I'm already seeing benefits. My waking BG levels have dropped from 9 to 7.8, and if I plot a graph of all my rest results, the trend is creeping down nicely. I've had a few hiccups with food experiments (muesli and stoneground wholemeal bread for example), but testing, testing, testing seems to be the key to enable me to identify the offenders and cut them from my diet. My fingers are a bit like pincushions at the moment though, but I consider it a small price to pay for knowledge.

I've really stepped up the exercise - either swimming 1Km or cycling 10Km every day, although as I have costochondritis (or something very like it), taking proper exercise really causes me a lot of pain, but I'm working through it and hopefully getting some fitness back will help with that too.