Truth About Diabetes Supplements: Fenugreek, Vitamin B12, Magnesium, And More | Everyday Health

Truth About Diabetes Supplements: Fenugreek, Vitamin B12, Magnesium, and More | Everyday Health

If you're searching for diabetes supplements that will help lower your blood sugar, know their potential risks and benefits first.
If you or a loved one has diabetes, you may be wondering if taking supplements can help manage the disease. If you visit any online diabetes forums, youll see claims about this or that supplement and how they can help reverse or cure diabetes and 22 percent of people with diabetes use an herbal therapy, according to the National Health Interview Survey . But whats the real scoop about the benefits of certain supplements for people with diabetes, as well as which ones are dangerous or simply ineffective?
Any supplement can be dangerous if not taken correctly, says Sandra J. Arvalo, MPH, RDN, CDE, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and for the American Association of Diabetes Educators, who is based in the Bronx, New York. Every person with diabetes should check with his or her doctor before starting any supplement. Let the doctor decide if what you're willing to take is safe for you.
Also ask your doctor about getting your blood levels of nutrients, to get a feel for which supplements may or may not be right for you. This is the key to truly personalizing and optimizing health, because it allows for a better understanding of which supplements might be most helpful, and at what doses, says Robin Foroutan, RDN , an integrative dietitianand a spokesperson for the AND, who is based in NewYork City.
Choosing a Safe Supplement to Keep Diabetes in Control
Before you start shopping for supplements, know that in its 20 Continue reading

Rate this article

Total 1 ratings

Daylight on diabetes drugs: Nevada bill would track insulin makers' profits

Patients notched a rare win over the pharmaceutical industry this week when the Nevada Legislature revived a bill requiring insulin makers to disclose the profits they make on the life-sustaining drug. In a handful of other states, bills addressing drug prices have stalled.
Many of the 1.25 million Americans who live with Type 1 diabetes cheered the legislative effort in Nevada as an important first step in their fight against skyrocketing costs of a drug on which their lives depend. The cost of insulin medications has steadily risen over the past decade by nearly 300 percent.
Prominent patient advocacy groups, such as the American Diabetes Association, have maintained stony silence while diabetes patients championed the bill and lobbied the Legislature during this debate - a silence that patients and experts say stems from financial ties.
"Normally all of the patient advocacy groups rally around causes and piggyback on each other in a productive way - that's what advocacy groups are good at - but that hasn't been the case here," said Thom Scher, chief operating officer of Beyond Type 1, which does not accept donations from the pharmaceutical industry. Beyond Type 1 has not issued a formal opinion on the Nevada bill.
Many of the dozens of U.S. diabetes advocacy organizations, large and small, garner significant portions of their funding from insulin manufacturers. The Nevada bill also requires such organizations operating in-state to disclose all contributions they receive from the pharmaceutical industry to discourage that sort of conflict.
In 2016, two of the "big three" Continue reading

Diabetes Later in Life? Could Be Type 1

Misdiagnosis could cause delays in appropriate care
by Kristen Monaco, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
This article is a collaboration between MedPage Today and:
People with type 1 diabetes might be misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
The study suggests that diagnosis of type 1 diabetes should be considered in any middle-aged patient with type 2 diabetes who does not show good glycemic control on rapidly escalating therapy, especially if patients are slim.
People with type 1 diabetes might be misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes in adulthood, researchers suggested.
Published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology , a cross-sectional analysis reported that 42% (95% CI 39-45) of people with type 1 diabetes were diagnosed between the ages of 31 and 60, despite representing only 4% (n=537) of new diabetes cases diagnosed after the age of 30 in the cohort.
"It is typically considered a disease of childhood and adolescence, but can occur at any age," wrote Nicholas J. Thomas, MRCP, of the University of Exeter Medical School in the U.K., and colleagues.
"Identification of type 1 diabetes in adults older than 30 years is challenging because of the much higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes than type 1 diabetes in older adults (type 1 diabetes accounts for <5% of all cases)," and diagnosis-related errors can often occur when diagnosing type 1 diabetes later in life.
Utilizing the U.K. Biobank, the researchers identified a total of 13,250 of 379,511 (3.5%) unrelated people who were of white, European decent and diagnosed with diabetes between birth and age 60. Type 1 Continue reading

Exercise Activities That Every Person with Diabetes Should Do

By Nicole Justus, RN, BSN Leave a Comment
Physical activity is such an amazing thing for people to partake in, especially if they have a chronic illness such as diabetes.
Unfortunately, though, only 39% of people that have diabetes participate in regular exercise compared to the 58% of people without diabetes that exercise regularly.
This article explains the precautions that you should take while exercising with diabetes , as well as different types of exercise and why they are so beneficial.
Before we continue with this article, I wanted to let you know we have researched and compiled science-backed ways to stick to your diet and reverse your diabetes. Want to check out our insights? Download our free PDF Guide Power Foods to Eat here.
Before you do anything, talk to your doctor to find out which activities are safe.
In order to be safe, always talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program. There are many limitations that your doctor may have for you because of your diabetes or because of other diseases or complications that you may have.
According to the NIDDK, people with diabetes who are overweight should combine physical activity with a calorie deficit meal plan . People who moved a lot and ate less had long term health benefits compared to those who do not make the appropriate changes in their lifestyle.
Why is exercising good for people with diabetes?
Exercise is great for anybody, but especially for people with diabetes. Some of the great benefits that it provides include:
Burning off extra glucose that is in the bloodstream
Lessens the ris Continue reading

Curbing Sugar Cravings

If youve been reading headlines lately, youll know that sugar is the new villain when it comes to obesity, inflammation, and chronic disease. Yet we Americans crave the sweet stuff. According to government figures, sugar has infiltrated the American diet so much that, on average, we eat about 152 pounds of it a year. Compare that to what we were eating 200 years ago: only 2 pounds of sugar per year. The 20152020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends we limit calories from added sugar to less than 10% each day. Thats about 200 calories worth, or roughly 13 teaspoons of sugar for someone consuming 2,000 calories per day on average, we get closer to 680 calories worth, or nearly 43 teaspoons of sugar each day.
More than a third of our sugar intake is in the form of sugary drinks, including non-diet sodas, sweetened ice tea, sports drinks, and other soft drinks. Table sugar accounts for about 25% of our intake. And the rest comes from baked goods, desserts, candy, fruit drinks, and breakfast cereals.
Some foods and beverages are obviously full of sugar. But sugar lurks in many foods that youd never suspect. Examples include:
Syrup (corn, maple, cane sugar, high-fructose)
Its natural for people to enjoy the taste of something sweet, and this preference starts at birth. Babies are born liking the taste of sweet and disliking the taste of bitter. Scientists believe that our sweet tooth dates back to our prehistoric ancestors, who gravitated to ripe fruit as a source of energy. In addition, eating sugar is pleasurable, and not just because it tastes good. When we eat Continue reading