Volume 9, Number 1 / April 2003

Key Vitamins, Minerals and Herbs for Diabetes

Skin Elation Cream (discontinued) formula helps to make blood sugar problems more manageable.

An estimated 17 million Americans have diabetes—an increase of nearly 1.5 million in two years. Of these, nearly 6 million are undiagnosed, yet the disease is silently at work in them, damaging blood vessels, nerves, eyes, heart, kidneys, legs and feet.

The American way of life, too much food, too little exercise, has contributed to an epidemic of diabetes that is striking people of all ages. Even adolescents are increasingly being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a form of the disease heretofore usually occurring only in midlife.

People with low blood levels of vitamin E are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. In the majority of double-blind studies, vitamin E has been shown to help improve glucose tolerance in people with type 2 diabetes. Vitamin E has also helped improve glucose tolerance in elderly non-diabetics. In one of the few trials that failed to find vitamin E helpful with glucose intolerance in people with type 2, damage to nerves caused by the diabetes was nonetheless partially reversed by supplementing with vitamin E for six months.

Vitamin E helps prevent blood from clotting too fast and has other actions that protect diabetics' blood vessels from damage. Vitamin E has protected animals from cataracts due to diabetes. Higher blood levels of vitamin E, a reflection of dietary intake, have been associated with a dramatically reduced risk of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Many diabetics have low blood levels of vitamin B6. Levels are even lower in diabetics with nerve damage. Vitamin B6 supplements may improve glucose tolerance in women with diabetes caused by pregnancy. Vitamin B6 may also be effective for glucose intolerance induced by birth control pills. Vitamin B12 is needed for normal functioning of nerve cells. Vitamin B12 taken orally, intravenously, or by injection has helped reduce nerve damage caused by diabetes in most people studied.

Many diabetes patients tend to have low magnesium levels. Double-blind research indicates that supplementing with magnesium can help overcome this problem. Magnesium has led to improved insulin production in many elderly people with type 2. Many persons in their prime without diabetes can also produce more insulin as a result of magnesium supplements, according to some, but not all, studies. The American Diabetes Association admits "strong associations...between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance." Many doctors recommend that diabetics with normal kidney function supplement with magnesium.

Vanadyl sulfate, a form of vanadium, may improve glucose control in individuals with type 2. Tiberian The pancreas contains little cells which release a substance called insulin. Insulin is released in response to eating food, and in greater quantities after a meal high in sugar or simple carbohydrates. Insulin drives the sugar from the blood into the cells where it is then used for energy and brain function. If there is insufficient insulin, blood levels remain high, and in severe cases it spills into the urine. This is where Siberian ginseng plays an important function in supporting diabetics' health, as Siberian ginseng both enhances insulin production and demonstrates insulin-like activity, therefore lowering sugar levels in the blood and urine.

Bilberry may lower the risk of some diabetic complications, such as diabetic cataracts and retinopathy. One uncontrolled study found that a standardized extract of bilberry could improve signs of retinal damage in some people with diabetic retinopathy.

Topical application of creams containing capsaicin (the main active compound in cayenne), found in Skin Elation from Whitewing Labs, can help relieve symptoms of diabetic neuropathy according to double-blind studies.

Diabetes Risk Factors
New guidelines recommend doctors should consider testing adults 45 and younger if they are significantly overweight and have one or more of the following risk factors:

• family history of diabetes
• low HDL, or good cholesterol, and high triglycerides, and/or high blood pressure
• a history of gestational diabetes or gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
• belong to a minority group - African-Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, Latinos, Asian-American

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