Hi, I have been been diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes for about 4 years. I am one of the slim ones with no family history of diabetes. I am on gliclazide but this over the last few months has proved increasingly ineffective. Over the years I have tried natural alternatives like cinnamon and pine extract but no luck so far. I am just about to try fenugreek extract. Anyone out there found any natural alternatives that worked for them?
Natural Supplements to combat diabetes
- Thread starter ART1C
- Start Date
Hi. Im afraid despite various reports from time to time I'm not aware of any natural remedy that has anything but the smallest effect on diabetes. As you are one of the slim ones, it's quite possible you are a Late onset T1 (LADA). Obviously have a low-carb diet which won't make you lose more weight (as long as you have enough protein and fat) but will hold the blood sugar down. When I had full dose Gliclazide and it failed I was given Sitagliptin for a while which helped bit but ultimately if you are a LADA you will need to move to insulin at some point. Try to get the GP to do the two tests for LADA i.e. GAD and c-peptide. BTW what was your last HBa1C?
You are slim but may well still have visceral fat which has been connected with type 2 diabetes. Of course you could be Late onset T1. I agree with Daibell that a low carb diet will help you. What is your diet like normally? If you good give us some idea of what a typical day's menu would be like then we may be able to help you more.
I know you are not new to diabetes but I will tag @daisy1 for her to give you lots of info, some of which may be useful to you.
Welcome to the forum
I know you are not new to diabetes but I will tag @daisy1 for her to give you lots of info, some of which may be useful to you.
Welcome to the forum
Baruney
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Hi ART1C
Have you tried chromium, pantethine, selenium, vanadium or biotin?
Cheers.
Edited to exclude advert for a site.
Last edited by a moderator:
daisy1
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@ART1C
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It contains a lot of information about carbs which should be helpful to you.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 140,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It contains a lot of information about carbs which should be helpful to you.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 140,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hi Thanks for that
I will have a word with my diabetic clinic, I gave up on my GP for support. My last HB1C (December) was 6.7% which they were OK with but my home monitoring has showed a downhill turn since then.
DeejayR
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- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Anyone out there found any natural alternatives that worked for them?
Specifically, no, because I don't want to try any. I have no aversion to alternatives but to me they are diversions from what is most likely to help me, which at the moment is eating moderately low-carb, plenty of fat and exercising regularly.
On this forum we have occasional discussions about the usefulness of spices like cinnamon and turmeric (any more? Can't remember) but not as a major contribution to managing diabetes to be recommended to everyone.
Also I like hearing about individual experiences with alternatives because it's all interesting stuff.
Specifically, no, because I don't want to try any. I have no aversion to alternatives but to me they are diversions from what is most likely to help me, which at the moment is eating moderately low-carb, plenty of fat and exercising regularly.
On this forum we have occasional discussions about the usefulness of spices like cinnamon and turmeric (any more? Can't remember) but not as a major contribution to managing diabetes to be recommended to everyone.
Also I like hearing about individual experiences with alternatives because it's all interesting stuff.
HiYou are slim but may well still have visceral fat which has been connected with type 2 diabetes. Of course you could be Late onset T1. I agree with Daibell that a low carb diet will help you. What is your diet like normally? If you good give us some idea of what a typical day's menu would be like then we may be able to help you more.
I know you are not new to diabetes but I will tag @daisy1 for her to give you lots of info, some of which may be useful to you.
Welcome to the forum
I have porridge with cinammon and stevia for breakfast, lunch is a weetabix with mixed fruit and skimmed milk, dinner is different each day but home cooked. Such as a meat casserole with carrots, mushrooms, beans and a small portion of potato. Rice is always Basmati wholegrain. A daytime snack is a banana or if I have a slice of toast during the day it is wholemeal and with Xtra virgin olive oil. Coffee and tea of cours. So quite a healthy diet.
6.7% isn't too bad but could usefully be tweaked down a bit with diet or more med. I stayed between 6.3 and 6.8 for quite a few years but then when tablets failed I shot up to 8.3% and went onto insulin. Anything over 7% really needs some positive action.
