Blood Sugar Support Supplements Part Two

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Which Blood Sugar Supplements are the Best For Reactive Hypoglycemia?

There’s a whole lot of supplements out there, ranging from the cheap ($10 a bottle) to the expensive (over $100 a bottle). I spent days researching yesterday’s article, Blood Sugar Support Supplements Part One, in which I reviewed the benefits (or lack of benefits) of many common ingredients. Today, I’m going to take a look at several popular brands.

What Works

GlucoBrium

Ingredients: Gymnema Sylvestre, Fenugreek, Cinnamon

I’ve heard some good things about this product from Douglas Laboratories. It does contain fenugreek (as far as proven research goes, this one is probably the best), and also contains Gymnema sylvestre which shows promise. Price is around $40 for 60 capsules.

Vital Nutrients Blood Sugar Support

Ingredients: American Ginseng Root, Holy Basil Extract (Ocimum sanctum), Fenugreek Seed Fibers, Chromium.

I ordered this supplement a couple of weeks ago from Amazon. Several of my blog readers have mentioned they also use this supplement and that it works. A quick look at the ingredients told me that they have the two most likely to work well: ginseng and fenugreek (see yesterday’s Blood Sugar Support Supplements article for why). It was a simple choice for me:

• Get 60 capsules of GlucoBrium for $40…
• or get 120 capsules of Vital Nutrients for the same price–I think this one is a bargain! Here’s a link to Amazon, where you can buy a bottle.

What Doesn’t Work

Diamaxol Blood Sugar & Glucofast Support

Ingredients: Bitter Melon, Guggul gum resin, Gymnema sylvestre leaves, Licorice bark extract, Banaba, Bilberry Leaves, Juniper berries, Ceylon Cinnamon bark, Cayenne fruit

If you want to help with acne, this could be the best one for you. But blood sugar support? There’s been one study in the US that looks promising for Gymnema sylvestre, but is this worth parting with $134? Probably not.

Dr. Sinatra’s Blood Sugar Support

Ingredients: Magnesium, Chromium, Cinnamon, Gymnema Sylvestre, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Banaba, Vanadium

Since finding out that safe levels of vanadium haven’t been determined, I’m skeptical of any supplement that contains that ingredient. Additionally, Alpha Lipoic Acid comes with this stern warning from The University of Maryland: “Alpha-lipoic acid can lower blood sugar levels, so people with diabetes should take alpha-lipoic acid only under the supervision of their doctor.”

Reactive hypoglycemia is related to diabetes in that they are both blood sugar disorders; I do not want my blood sugar levels to fall any more than they occassionally do (I’ve got the dips stabilized at 60-80 Mg/dL when they used to fall to 20-40), so I’ve got no intention of trying this particular supplement, despite it’s cheap price ($13 for 120 capsules).

Nature’s Iventory Blood Sugar Balance Wellness Oil

Ingredients: Cinnamon oil, Lemon oil, Graprefuit oil and Cypress oil.

According to the manufacturer, “Clinical studies” have shown that their ingredients are proven to normalize blood sugar levels. As discussed in my post on cinnamon, the claims about cinnamon’s benefits are dubious at best. And the other ingredients? I haven’t been able to find any “clinical studies” on any of them. I emailed the manufacturer to ask about the clinical studies. Their response? “There have been many studies. I can direct you to one…the book is called Clinical Aromatherapy Essential Oils in Practice by Jane Buckle. Page 105 explains a study done by Saeki and Shiohara.” When asked to provide more studies, they responded “Ont[sic] this particular study they investigate the physiologic response to inhaled essential oils on helathy[sic] women aged 21 to 23.” Talk about beating around the bush! I remain unimpressed.

Related posts:

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

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