Blood Sugar Support Supplements Part One

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The first time I saw a Blood Sugar Support Supplement was in Wal Mart. It was a mixture of cinnamon and ginseng with a few fruity extracts thrown in. I took them for a few days, and didn’t notice any difference in my overall health. They are sitting in my medicine cabinet barely touched, and this blog post is a reminder to myself that I need to throw that bottle out.

The promise of an all-natural blood sugar support supplement continues to be an alluring thought. The FDA does not control the supplements industry, meaning they can claim anything they like and do not need any proof of safety (unlike prescriptions). There’s no way of telling by their advertisements if their claims are true or false, and often the manufacturers “forget” to mention flawed studies (they’ll only tell you about the good ones).

I decided to do some research and find out exactly what the ingredients do in these supplements. Does the research bear out some of these manufacturers claims with regards to blood sugar control? How do these supplements pertain to reactive hypoglycemia?

All About Supplements for Reactive Hypoglycemia

I’ve already written an article on one of the more common supplements, cinnamon, but there are many others:

Alpha Lipoic Acid

From the University of Berkeley’s Wellness Guide to Dietary Supplements: “Not enough is known now to recommend alpha-lipoic acid. No one knows what dose should be used for what ailment.”

Banaba Leaf Extract

Banaba is hypoglycemic, i.e. it works to lower blood sugar levels, but they do not know the mechanism. From  Dr. Ray Sahelian’s Website “…it is difficult to predict the blood sugar response to a banaba supplement and it is difficult to know what dosage works best and how often to take a banaba supplement or how it interacts with other supplements used for blood sugar control.”

Bitter Melon

From the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center website: “Data suggest that a significant hypoglycemic effect occurs in both healthy and diabetic patients.”

Cayenne

I’ve found this ingredient as a supplement to many blood sugar control supplements, but there’s no research out there to prove it’s worth on anything to do with either diabetes or hypoglycemic issues. I found one reference to it improving diabetic neuropathy (degeneration of nerve tissue) on the Sloan-Kettering Website but nothing for blood sugar control.

Chromium

From the University of Berkeley’s Wellness Guide to Dietary Supplements: “One large clinical trial conducted in China found that chromium was helpful for those with diabetes—but the Chinese, including those with diabetes, are less likely to be obese than Americans, and their chromium levels were not evaluated at the start of the study. Clinical trials in the U.S. have so far produced no clear evidence of benefits from chromium supplements. Low levels of chromium are characteristic of diabetes, but there’s no evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship, or any reason to think Americans are deficient in chromium.”

Fenugreek Seed

There are several studies to show the hypoglycemic effects of Fenugreek seeds. You can find two of them here and here. According to this study, the hypoglycemic effects may be due to a reduced gastrointestinal glucose absorption (much like vinegar which I wrote about here).

Ginseng

There are several varieties of ginseng, and it’s important to know which one you are getting in your supplement. Some studies report that Asian Ginseng has hypoglycemic qualities and that it may help with insulin resistance. American Ginseng may increase the hypoglycemic effect of insulin, while Siberian Ginseng is largely untested in humans.

Guggul (or guggle)

While guggul has been purported to reduce acne breakouts, there’s no evidence to suggest that guggul helps with reactive hypoglycemia. You can find a summary on guggul’s qualities here.

Gymnema sylvestre

This has been shown in a few (mostly Indian) studies to delay the absorption of sugars in the stomach, results in better sugar control.  There was one study in the US that showed promising results. However, the results from these small studies are preliminary, and no one knows for sure if gymnema sylvestre really aids blood glucose control.

Magnesium

From the University of Berkeley’s Wellness Guide to Dietary Supplements: “basic multivitamin/mineral will supply all the extra magnesium you might need. Foods rich in magnesium include whole grains, nuts, beans, seeds, fish, avocados, and leafy green vegetables. If your drinking water is hard, you’ll get a fair amount of magnesium from it. Excessive magnesium (greater than the recommended levels) can cause diarrhea, nausea, cramps, muscle weakness, and heart abnormalities.”

Vanadium (also called Vanadyl Sulfate)

While some reports state that vanadium lowers blood sugar levels, but the University of Maryland warns that a “safe” level for this drug isn’t known. It may cause anemia, and might increase a hypoglycemic reaction.

Many of these supplements report having hypoglycemic effects, meaning that they should be taken with meals to lower the peak blood sugar level. Taking a hypoglycemic supplement like American Ginseng in between meals may make your symptoms worse!

Related posts:

1. Blood Sugar Support Supplements Part Two
2. The Truth About Cinnamon and Blood Sugar Control
3. Does Vinegar Lower Blood Sugar?
4. Aspirin Lowers Blood Sugar?
5. Control Your Blood Sugar With…Coffee?

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