There are two herbs that I recommend to help you manage blood sugar and protect against diabetes complications: Gymnema sylvestre and banaba leaf extract.
Gymnema sylvestre is an extract from the leaves of a climbing plant native to the forests of central and south India that has been used since the sixth century BC. The leaves of the plant contain gymnemic acids, which have been shown to slow the transport of glucose from the intestines to the bloodstream. This, in turn, helps keep blood sugar levels in the healthy range. I recommend a maintenance dose of 200 mg of Gymnema sylvestre daily. For extra support, try 400 mg daily.
Banaba leaf extract (Lagestroemia speciosa), which comes from Asia, contains colosolic acid. Colosolic acid promotes glucose transport into cells, making it easier to maintain blood sugar levels within the healthy range. In one Japanese clinical trial, 24 people living with diabetes were given a supplement containing banaba leaf or a placebo three times a day for four weeks. While those taking the placebo showed no improvement, significant blood sugar declines were observed in the individuals taking the herb.
I recommend 48 mg of banaba leaf daily.
Much of the research on the relationship between diabetes and heart disease has come from the Framingham Heart Study.
Started in the early 1950s, this study, which has followed the medical history of thousands of residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, has provided a gold mine of data showing how people living with diabetes are at dramatically increased risk of heart disease and related health concerns.
Other studies have demonstrated that even in the absence of other heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, or a family history of heart disease, people living with diabetes are still at a much higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from cardiovascular disease. They’re also more likely to be concerned about their blood pressure health. Why is this?
The most common type of heart disease, coronary artery disease, is primarily a disease of the blood vessels, or coronary arteries, that supply the heart muscle with vital oxygen and nutrients. In a process known as atherosclerosis, the artery walls become narrowed and hardened with buildups of cholesterol and cellular debris, which can restrict blood flow and impair circulation. If the blood flow through these arteries is severely restricted, angina (chest pain caused by insufficient oxygen to the heart muscle) may result. And if a blood clot lodges in a narrowed artery, a heart attack or stroke may occur.
When you throw elevated blood sugar into the mix, the situation only gets worse. Excess blood sugar makes the blood less viscous, causing impaired circulation. And high levels of insulin, also characteristic of type 2 diabetes, damage the arteries and contribute to atherosclerosis. So it makes sense that people living with diabetes are also at increased risk of developing heart disease. Fortunately, taking steps to manage blood sugar levels can help to reduce this risk.
Diabetes is a fearsome disorder, yet one we take much too lightly. Few people dealing with diabetes risk factors or borderline elevated blood sugar levels realize the urgency of controlling diabetes in its early stages.
Most are unaware that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and amputations in this country or that people who have diabetes are more likely to have—and die of—a heart attack or stroke than those who are able to maintain blood sugar levels that are closer to normal. Nor do they recognize that diabetes is a primary contributor to conditions such as erectile dysfunction (impotence) and dementia. As a matter of fact, most people either don’t know or tend to ignore the subtle warning signs. It’s time we all pull our heads out of the sand and look diabetes in the eye.
The ability to manage blood sugar levels is largely an issue of lifestyle. In 90 percent of all cases, diabetes is both preventable and treatable.
I’ve been practicing medicine for more than 30 years and I have tens of thousands of diabetes success stories from to people who have followed my protocol of natural diabetes treatments. Many of my patients have called me over the years to thank me for my alternative treatments for diabetes. “My blood sugars are normal—without drugs.” “I was able to avoid amputation.” “My vision has stabilized.” “Your advice saved my life.”
In future blog postings, I will share what you need to know to take control of your own health so that you, too, can beat diabetes.
Diabetes, like most chronic illnesses, is often (and rightly) characterized as a disease of lifestyle. Specific lifestyle choices can create and exacerbate type 2 diabetes, but as Dr. Whitaker has proven time and again, the right lifestyle changes can prevent, treat and even reverse type 2 diabetes as well.
But do some people have the cards stacked against them, where developing diabetes is an inevitable component of their very genetic makeup? To read the latest study in Nature Genetics, you might reach that conclusion.
There's no disputing that there is a strong, inheritable correlation present with type 2 diabetes. If your mother, father, sister or brother has it, your risk of developing diabetes goes up considerably. Your identical twin has diabetes? Your risk is even higher.
Now researchers have identified 10 new genetic variants that lead to differences in glucose levels for non-diabetic people. Half of these genetic differences also correlate to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
"Finding these new pathways can help us better understand how glucose is regulated, distinguish between normal and pathological glucose variations and develop potential new therapies for type 2 diabetes," Dr Jose Florez, one of the lead researchers, explained.
What researchers go on to say is that by studying healthy people without type 2 diabetes, their hope is we can better understand how to treat those people who are currently living with diabetes, or those simply trying to manage blood sugar every day.
No dispute here, it's an admirable pursuit. And most experts concede that the future of medicine will be greatly influenced by the study of the human genome. But a danger few people talk about is this science of medicine instead fueling a belief that if you have a genetic predisposition towards a disease, all you're left to do is throw up your hands and live with it.
The fact is, 55 percent of people dealing with type 2 diabetes are struggling with their weight, and regardless of your genes, diabetes and weight are unquestionably connected.
Another lifestyle correlation -- making regular exercise a part of your life -- dramatically impacts your likelihood of facing type 2 diabetes, now or in the future.
By understanding how to manage your risk -- with the proper diet that promotes insulin sensitivity, with supplements for diabetes that make maintaining blood sugar safe and manageable -- you gain control of your genes, not allow your genes to seal your fate.
The fact that you're reading this means you're already taking steps to understand your role in your own health.
Remember, as Dr. Whitaker says, you're in charge. Not your doctor. Not the system. And, as we'll have to keep in mind as more studies like this come out, not your genes.
A recent study in the
Journal of Applied Physiology highlights an important point for those living with diabetes or simply trying to maintain healthy blood sugar -- what you eat
immediately after exercise can have a dramatic impact on your ability to control your blood sugar and maintain insulin sensitivity.
While it's no surprise that exercise can enhance insulin sensitivity, what we're learning is how to best maintain that benefit for a longer period of time, so you get a more lasting impact from your efforts. When study participants were given post-exercise meals containing relatively low levels of carbohydrates, the benefits for insulin sensitivity were greatest.
When you improve your insulin sensitivity, it's easier for your body to absorb the sugar in your blood stream into your tissues, where it can be stored or used as fuel. One of the main signs of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, which is also a significant risk factor for other chronic diseases, like heart disease.
The good news is that efforts to eat modestly after exercise, with low-calorie meals, did not improve insulin sensitivity any more than when study participants ate enough calories to match what they burned off. As anyone who's hopped on a treadmill knows, exercise often increases hunger, and it's good to know you don't have to fight the urge to eat after a workout to still take advantage of the important blood sugar benefits.
Exercise Acts Like A Natural Shot of Insulin
As Dr. Whitaker has pointed out in
Health & Healing, exercise dramatically improves your ability to fight diabetes and insulin resistance. That's because exercise actually acts like insulin in the body — the exercising muscle takes up glucose, even when no insulin is present. And if you exercise regularly, the benefits can be long-lasting.
Given the soaring rate of obesity in this country and the connection between diabetes and weight, exercise is more important than ever to stem the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, and keep those with metabolic syndrome from progressing toward full-blown disease.
As studies have shown, regular exercise (just 30 minutes, five days a week) and a low-fat diet can deliver average sustained weight loss of 10-15 pounds. This alone can help prevent diabetes or reverse the disease if you already have it.
Brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming — it's not what you do but your commitment to actually do it that matters. Shoot for 30 minutes 3-5 times a week. Once you start, and you start reaping the rewards, it's that much easier to stick with it!
As General Manager of Forward Nutrition, I get a lot of questions about supplements. These days, many of you are asking what Dr. Whitaker recommends when facing a significant health concern like diabetes.
Are there specific supplements he has recommended for years? Are there supplements Dr. Whitaker has had success using with patients to manage blood sugar naturally? Are there different supplements to control blood sugar, target Syndrome X, manage pre-diabetes or beat type 2 diabetes? What about weight loss -- does Dr. Whitaker have suggestions for that?
The short answer (and that's what blogs are for,
short answers) is yes, there are many different supplements for diabetes and related blood sugar concerns. Over the next few posts, I'll focus on Dr. Whitaker's favorites, the tried-and-true, and as new ones come along, you'll be sure to hear about them here.
Vanadium: A Cornerstone of the Whitaker Wellness Approach
According to Dr. Whitaker, one of the most effective and intriguing nutritional supplements for managing blood sugar levels is vanadium. This trace mineral lowers blood sugar by mimicking insulin and improving the cells’ sensitivity to insulin. Studies show that supplementation with vanadium (as vanadyl sulfate) markedly lowers fasting glucose and improves other measures of diabetes.
In one study, eight people with type 2 diabetes who received 50 mg of vanadyl sulfate twice a day for four weeks were found to have a 20 percent reduction in average fasting blood sugar, which lasted well after the mineral was discontinued. The only reported adverse effect was minor gastrointestinal distress during the first few days of the study.
Dr. Whitaker's suggested dose of vanadyl sulfate is 30 mg daily. If you need extra support and are under a doctor’s care, you can take up to 100 mg per day.
Pretty powerful stuff. And that's just one of many solutions. Look for more specific recommendations in upcoming posts, and keep the questions coming!
It will be interesting to see what the mainstream media makes of this
latest study on the dangers of type 2 diabetes drugs, and their links to heart failure and death. You can bet that it won't be to tell you to avoid the drugs entirely and focus on managing blood sugar and diabetes naturally, or showcasing Dr. Whitaker's
proven solutions for the natural treatment -- and
reversal -- of diabetes.
As Dr. Whitaker wrote in May's
Health & Healing, "
When are we going to learn—rather, when are we going to accept—that oral medications for type 2 diabetes actually do more harm than good?"
We've known since the late 1960's that drug treatments for type 2 diabetes have fatal complications, and the two drugs in this latest study --
rosiglitazone and
pioglitazone -- are hardly different. Consider the side effects and you're left scratching your head in disbelief.
Why doctors would knowingly prescribe "treatments" for type 2 diabetes that bring on fluid retention, weight gain and increased risk of heart failure, health risks diabetics already have with the disease, is absurd, especially when you consider that lowering blood sugar, controlling weight gain, and preventing the complications of diabetes is not only achievable with alternative treatments, it's far safer.
Dr. Whitaker will continue to lead the charge against this gross mistreatment, and if you're dealing with diabetes, it's nice to know you have someone on your side. Someone who understands that dealing with diabetes isn't a drug deficiency, it's a chance to take control of your life. Understand that, and beating diabetes isn't just achievable, it's natural.
As the General Manager of Forward Nutrition, I'm constantly reading and researching about supplements and health, particularly when it involves diabetes. Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome are huge problems that are only getting worse in this country, and natural treatments for diabetes don't get nearly the attention they deserve.
This article from the April 2009 issue of Nutritional Outlook (ok, I'm a little behind) is too good not to share.
Entitled "Understanding a Silent Killer," this is must reading if you're at all concerned about diabetes, maintaining or managing blood sugar, or seeking natural, safe treatments to treat Type 2 diabetes.
Among the natural treatments for diabetes care discussed are alpha-lipoic acid, dietary fiber, gymnema sylvestre and chromium. These nutrients have been shown repeatedly to help manage blood sugar, control blood sugar spikes, and reduce sugar cravings and mood swings.
Alpha-lipoic acid doesn't just improve insulin sensitivity, but also protects against diabetic complications like peripheral nerve pain. It's one of the best natural diabetes treatments, and it also helps your body utilize the other antioxidants you take, like vitamins C and E.
Here's a simple recipe for preventing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease: pour glass of tomato juice. Drink. Repeat.
Metabolic Syndrome -- which for many is the first step towards obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease -- may be prevented by upping your antioxidant carotenoid levels, according to a recent study from the University Medical Center Ulrecht in The Netherlands.
In the study published in the Journal of Nutrition, Dutch scientists report that those with the highest carotenoid levels had a 58 percent decreased incidence of Metabolic Syndrome, drastically reducing their future risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Higher levels of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin, were associated with smaller waist size and less body fat, as well as lower triglyceride levels. Waist size above 40" in men (35" in women) and increased triglyceride levels are two major signs and symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome.
The highest levels of protection seem to come from lycopene and beta-carotene, with lycopene in particular associated with a 45 percent lower incidence of the syndrome.
Clearly if you're looking for a new diabetes treatment or a simple lifestyle change for better health, getting more lycopene in your diet is a healthy place to start. Lycopene, which is abundant in tomato juice and widely available in supplement form, not only lowers your risk of diabetes, heart attack and diseases of the prostate, lung, colon, stomach, and pancreas, but studies have also found it can significantly decrease exercise-induced asthma too.
Metabolic Syndrome is particularly dangerous because so many have it and don't even realize it. As many as 75 million Americans have the risk factors associated with Metabolic Syndrome (also known as "Syndrome X") which include low HDL cholesterol, high fasting blood glucose levels and blood pressure above 135/85.
Taking steps to manage blood sugar and reduce weight can not only prevent Metabolic Syndrome, but the more serious Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems that so often follow behind it.
Who knew that an alternative treatment for diabetes could be as close as your next V-8? Just make it the low sodium variety, please.
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