October 23, 2009
Natural Foods and Supplements to Reduce Your Blood Sugar
Did you know that there are many natural foods and supplements that you can take that will help lower your blood sugar level naturally? Diabetic patients are usually made aware of the countless pharmaceutical products that are available…but what if you want to naturally lower your blood sugar level?
Let me just start out by saying that I am not against the use of pharmaceutical products to control diabetes. I myself am taking Metformin, also known as Glucophage, and Glipizide, also known as Glucotrol, to help regulate my blood glucose levels. Although I’ve stopped taking the Metformin because it gave me serious stomach cramps, gas and diahrea.
Right now taking these drugs is a must for me. If you knew me personally you would know that I’m not keen on taking medication. I’m always looking for a more natural approach to treating my diabetes.
What I have been finding is that there are foods and supplements that will naturally lower blood sugar levels. By incorporating these foods and supplements into your already diabetes friendly diet you are upping your chances of a longer healthier life.
Food And Supplements That Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Cinnamon: Researchers are finding that cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels naturally when taken daily. If you absolutely love cinnamon you can sprinkle the recommended six grams of cinnamon on your food throughout the day to achieve the desired effect. If you are not that big a fan of cinnamon there is another alternative…cinnamon capsules. This gives you the recommended cinnamon dose all in one tidy capsule.
Chromium: To help your body’s cells respond properly to insulin you can use Chromium. There are studies that are finding that people with diabetes have lower Chromium levels that people without the disease. So how do you add Chromium to your diet? Well it is a trace mineral so the best bet it to take a Chromium Picolinate dietary supplement.
Zinc: The mineral Zinc plays a huge role in your body’s production and storage of insulin. It is now being brought to light that people with diabetes have a Zinc deficiency. You can go about increasing the Zinc in your diet by either taking a supplement or by eating foods that are high in Zinc. This would include lamb, oysters, pecans, almonds, chicken and sardines.
Salacia oblonga: Also something interesting I read about and also heard from someone on a podcast they were taking in Sri Lanka. Salacia oblonga is an herb that’s been used for centuries which is native to regions of India and Sri Lanka, binds to intestinal enzymes that break down carbohydrates in the body. Ohio State University, researchers saw insulin levels drop 23 percent and blood sugar levels drop 29 percent in patients who took a 1,000-mg dose of the herb. Amazing!
These are just a few of the natural foods and supplements that will lower your blood sugar level naturally. One thing that is very important is that you keep your health care provider up to date on any supplements that you will be utilizing as a natural way to lower your blood sugar. They will be able to help you safely figure out what does and does not work for you.
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Dave S
October 18, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Could this be an actual cure???
I’ve recently run across a site that looks very promising for everyone here. I’ve just begun to check things out, but from what I’ve seen so far, it makes a lot of sense and the best part is, I’ve found only one place that mentions money – they suggest that you purchase a copy of the seminar. This is by no means a requirement to make full use of the information on the site – as far as I’ve found so far, everything else is totally FREE!
No matter what, it’s definitely worth a look-see.
http://www.watercure2.org/
wallace
November 3, 2008 at 3:21 am
Hi All,
i have stumbled here at 2:58a.m….feeling a little scared and unsure.. i was diagnosed earlier this year with type-2 diabetes..i had a blood sugar of 876..after a 3 night stay in ICU and and a couple of months on Metformin(500mg) it got to the point where my doc wanted me to take about 2000mgs of Metformin and i broke and just gave up taking them all together..i peridiocally had been monitoring my levels…for a long time the levels reamained within target range..i checked my levels tonite..and the levels were at 204..i then took a walk…when i returned the levels dropped slightly to 181..then i aight,,nothing healthy..lol..and the levels shot up to 224 then hr later 289..so as u would guess i am a little bit nervous..so nervous that i took a pill of 500mg of metformin.should i wait to see if the metformin works or should i go to the hospital immediatley..did i mention i hate hospitals..lol.ok here is some interesting news..i was watching the local news here and boston, they said there was a possible cure for some diabetes patients..so of curse i was glued to the tv..come to find out the “cure” was gastric bypass..for some individuals this has completely cured them..damn huh?
Dave S
November 5, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Wallace-
Gastric bypass cure?
I’ve heard of that one. It works just like the high fructose corn syrup cure – both involve “cutting” of some kind.
Seriously, did you see the entire report on TV? I just read that one of the most common side effects was gastrointestinal upset, which sounds like it could be cured with a gastric bypass.
My advice would be to find a natural/alternative health practitioner. There’s a good chance that you could get off of the Metformin, since it only relieves your symptoms and doesn’t really cure anything, anyway.
Also, look for foods that naturally lower blood sugar such as cinnamon, sweet potatoes (surprise, surprise – both terms in that food suggest otherwise), plums, etc.
Ken
November 5, 2008 at 9:23 pm
well I don’t know maybe you should go to the hospital.If there is something wrong you might want to know about it right?
I have been drinking some artificial sweeteners and my blood sugars have been around 250-300 so then i went to drinking water and they have come down to like 150-80 so I would suggest drinking plenty of water and exercise alot!
well thanks for reading my message bye!
Ceci
November 13, 2008 at 1:03 am
I was told I’m right around the corner from diabetes so I have been checking my blood sugar all the time. It was 68 2 hrs after I ate dinner, so I drank some herbal tea (no caffine) with lots of stevia. I checked it 15 min after I drank the stevia and it was up to 135? I always heard stevia doesn’t raise your blood sugar, but indeed it did in my case, anyone have any info about that? thanks, Ceci
Dave S
November 13, 2008 at 1:48 pm
For those who drink artificial sweetners and diet drinks, three simple words:
WATER, WATER, WATER!
Dave S
November 13, 2008 at 2:00 pm
(CONTINUING…I must have hit a wrong key in error)
Your bodies are begging for water. De-hydration is the main culprit in developing diabetes (and most other diseases). People don’t drink enough water and therefore, the body robs the water from the food we eat, leaving none for proper digestion and use by cells, organs, etc.
To determine how much water you need to drink per day, take your body weight and divide it by 2. This is the number of ounces you should be consuming. For example, a person weighs 300 lbs. Divide this by 2 and it shows that he should be consuming 150 ounces of water PER DAY. That’s over 4 1/2 quarts PER DAY.
I don’t know any of you personally, but I know none of you drink that much water.
If, by chance you DO drink that much water (and I’m wrong – as if) then there’s something else causing your problems. In that case, I would highly reccommend checking out the website http://www.miraclemineral.org.
This and the water cure mentioned in an earlier post is something I strongly believe in.
Mel
December 12, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Well after being out of shape for about 8 months, I got the scare of my life the other day. My blood sugar level is at 285. the doctor has scheduled further testing on Jan 2009 for possible diabetes.
I saw on many medical and diabetes sites some of the symptoms of diabetes and I have none thus far. I do drink a lot of water though but I do that on purpose. I have always drank at least 10 cups per day. I just like water.
I hope and pray that my results come back negative, I had the blood sugar test about 2 weeks ago and I have been on a strict diet since then and also joined a gym and walk 2 miles a night on the treadmill and weight lifting.
Even hough I don’t know if I have diabetes yet, I started a diabetic diet I found online and I hope it works. I saw where certain vitamins and vinegar can help also. I am open for anything that can help me.
Can anyone share their experiences with me about what has helped you and how did you react when you got the bad news? I have been on pins and needles all week about this, to be honest it scares me to death. Thanks.
Jeri
March 1, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I have had numerous blood tests for fasting blood sugar. The first one came back at 120. The doctor gave me a monitor to check my levels. My fasting blood sugar varies between 100-135. I take no medications other than natural remedies of chromium picolinate, alpha lipoic acid, cinnamon, banaba leaf, bitter melon, and gymmena sylvestre (not sure of spelling). I try to watch my carbs, but lately it seems any carb I eat raises my levels. Is there anything else I could take to bring my levels below 100?
Dave
March 1, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I strongly believe that diabetes (even those on the needle) is totally curable. I have only just discovered this website, but everything in it seems so “right on the mark”: (It is not my website; I just placed it in the URL box option to get noticed more easily.)
watercure2.org
Maybe it’s coincidence, but I was diagnosed with chronic dehydration and a salt deficiency.
Caffeine is notorious for causing dehydration.
According to the above website, the almost predominant cause of all disease is dehydration and a mineral deficiency that eating today’s over-processed and junk foods cause. Many of these minerals can be gotten from using natural, unprocessed sea salt instead of the stuff that you buy off the shelf at Wal-mart.
The website does not sell the salt, so it isn’t like they’re just trying to hawk a product. They do, however offer a book called, “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water” (which I recommend – though haven’t yet purchased for myself…but I’m meaning to), although purchase isn’t mandatory to get the benefits that the website offers. Other than the (optional) book, the rest of the information is totally free.
dorothy
March 18, 2009 at 5:07 am
with fasting, my blood sugar is around 5.1-5.6, but after meal within 1 hour sometime my blood sugar was around 7.2-9.00 depand on what kind of food i ate. after 2 hours later then became 5-6, if i went to dinner at restaurant within 1 hour my blood sugar up to 14-16. after 3 hours then back to normal. am i diabetic? can u tell me? every time after meal within 1 hour why my sugar will go so high then back to normal wihtin 2-3 hours.
Dave
April 3, 2009 at 12:41 pm
dorothy: Most of your blood glucose levels seem to fall within the normal range with one exception. Although the usual “1 hour after” reading of 7.2-9.00 is only 1 point over the normal range, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. However, the 14-16 readings are a bit concerning. Where are you eating at, a bakery? Considering the consistency of the other readings, a spike like this doesn’t sound like “the norm”, but I wouldn’t worry if it was like, a very infrequent thing. I’d suggest, however, that you find somewhere else to eat and stay away from the desserts and other sweets.
The normal range for someone WITHOUT diabetes is:
before breakfast : 70-105 mg/dL 3.9-5.8 mmo/L
Before lunch/dinner: 70-110 3.9-6.1
1 hr after meals: Less than 160 Less than 8.9
2 hours after meals: Less than 129 Less than 6.7
Between 2 & 4 am Greater than 70 Greater than 3.9
Source: One Touch Ultra strips (blood glucose monitor)information insert.
Rob
April 21, 2009 at 2:18 pm
The cure requires some research.
Google the following …..
John Smith Medical Researcher and
Jon Barron
Both will help you get out of the medical web of drugs to treat symptoms, and into a cure using diet, vitamins, herbs and exercise….which is the only way.
Good luck.
Add These Good Fats to Your Diet and See the Benefit
October 30, 2009 at 3:13 am
[...] zero fat or very low fat diet causes greater insulin release. When your blood sugar spikes, your pancreas releases a lot of insulin to bring blood sugar back [...]
Suzie
November 6, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Chocolate! Really! My mom was recently diagnosed with diabetes and put on insulin. After just over 8 weeks of eating a new specially processed chocolate, she’s cutting back her insulin and her blood pressure meds… and after her first lab results, the Dr. says her cholesterol is in the normal range (he was ready to put her on meds after her previous visit).
Mom’s A1C went from 8.1% to 6.4%!!
The chocolate has been such a blessing for my family in just what it’s done for my mom! Like I said before, it is specially processed to keep all the natural good for you stuff in it.
It’s diabetic friendly too because they use natural low-glycemic sweeteners…. really, you can have chocolate!
I encourage you to visit my blog and ask me any questions you have.
After seeing mom’s results, I couldn’t help but be excited and help her pass the word!!
Tom
December 10, 2009 at 11:43 am
did I hear chocolate ??? need all the help i can get . meds and insulin are not doing the job. PLEASE let me know what worked for your mom.. Thank you Thank you Thank you,tom
Maryann
November 29, 2009 at 11:01 am
I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, its been three yrs on medication. I am trying to get off medication I have not tried supplements I am just finding out how about apple cider vineager does it work? I will try anything to lower these sugars!
Marilyn
December 3, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I don’t trust the health system at all. I have been tying to get my health problems sorted out – just not feeling well for some time and changed doctors because I wasn’t getting any results. The new doctor sent me for blood work and right away they said needed to go on metroforum or whatever that is. How can one doctor search for 2 years for the problem doing the same tests and the next doctor comes back with results and diagnosis the next day? I want to know how it can mean I have diabetes with just one test. Anybody got any thoughts on this??/
StarMerchant
February 1, 2010 at 12:09 pm
You’re right in not trusting the health care system. Disease is big business for both the pharmaceutical industry and the medical community. The more your doctor can hide from you the more he can make off of you.
The truth is, a doctor named Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D did over 20 years of research in the curing power of water. He found that dehydration is the underlying culprit behind many of the diseases that plague mankind, including such “incurable” diseases such as cancer, diabetes and a long list of others.
The medical community doesn’t profit from prescribing water to its patients and the pharmaceutical companies can’t sell drugs when their customers are healing themselves with water.
A very, very interesting website to consider is http://www.watercure.com.
Jessica
December 4, 2009 at 11:33 am
Help!!!!!!!!
I am a single mom with two great kids last month i went to the doctor for back pain and found out I have DIABETES very scary my blood sugar was 429 and My A1C was 13.9 super high.
I have been looking for a treadmill to help me exercise but they are very expensive, SO if anyone knows how I can lose weight to help my blood suger go way down I would really love the help.
I do exercise 30 minutes a day but it’s NOT working,.
PLEASE any help.
I do eat the cinnamon, garlic, onions, walnuts, all those thing to help but it has never been below 320 so I need more help.
Dave S
December 10, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I don’t know if this is allowed, but I need to ask anyway…
Does anyone have a One Touch Select meter they can let go of pretty cheap?
I purchased 200 One Touch Select test strips to use in my Ultra Mini meter thinking that being of the same brand they were compatible.
Unfortunately, I later learned that the One Touch Select meter was a discontinued model. For some reason, Life Scan (the makers of One Touch products) chose to continue marketing the test strips instead of phasing them out. There is nowhere on the packaging (or anywhere else that I can find) that warns of incompatibility between the models.
My advice to everyone who purchases One Touch products is “Buyer Beware”.
In the meantime, I am on indefinite layoff, on unemployment. If anyone has upgraded to a newer meter and is willing to part with their Select meter, I have a throw-away email:
peoria_mail@yahoo.com.
Thanks.
Rach
December 10, 2009 at 12:28 pm
http://www.pcrm.org You will find all the answers you need there
Scott
December 10, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Jessica,
Do you drink diet soda? If so, I recommend stopping it immediately. I stopped drinking diet soda and my sugars went down from that alone. The Aspartame mimmics diabetes complications from what I have read.
Do you have a sedintary job? I personally sit at a desk for almost 9 hours a day. Because of that, I work out high intensity for 45 minutes 3 days a week and moderate intensity two days a week with 2 days to recover. If you are overweight (I am 365 right now and was 450 at my heaviest) you will see your sugars drop gradually from weight loss also.
Don’t eat refined sugars, no corn syrups, and no artificial sweetners. Do not eat bleached flours and minimize your carb intake but do not stop eating carbs. Eat veggies that are high in fiber, I myself, I am going to try a vegetarian/vegan style diet and see if that helps.
Brian
December 21, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes 10 years ago. The first thing I would say to all is don’t panic! The medical world tries to frighten you to motivate you. You do have to take action, but the prescription drugs are more a danger than a help. Insulin/Diabetic shock from blood sugar levels dropped too low can become life threatening in minutes, but levels of 200mg- 400mg are not an immediate danger.
It’s important to acknowledge that the blood sugar level is a symptom of the disease, but not the disease itself. While medications can reduce your blood sugar levels, they do absolutely nothing to address the cause of the increased levels.
My own experience shows that Type II diabetes is a disease of malnutrition. The “convenient” foods we eat are largely stripped of nutrients, and loaded with bad carbs and processed sugars. Even supposedly healthy offerings can be unhealthy. I was using Slim Fast to lose weight, but it was like eating a candy bar, loaded with carbs and sugar. My recommendation to address the cause of the higher blood sugar levels is:
1. Take nutritional supplements, a full range vitamin mineral source with a high absorption (90% + ). Take them every day, and stick to it.
2. Incorporate exercise. You don’t have to train for the Olympics…but moderate exercise enables your body to process the nutrients it takes in. Go for a walk, do some light calisthenics, etc. and stick to it. Make it a habit.
3. Change your diet to lower carb / sugar content foods. There’s lots of foods that qualify, so it isn’t a painful diet, but some foods must go. Look at the nutrition information on the food you buy, and look up restaurant web sites for their product nutrition info. You’ll be surprised at the content of some of the things you’ve been eating, as was I. You parents out there also need to look at the food you give to your kids. Way, way to many teens are being diagnosed with diabetes as a result of their convenient and sweet diets.
4. Look for some specific herbs further improve your diabetes reversal. I use Bitter Melon, Nopal cactus, Chromium, Gymnema Sylvestra, Cinnamon, and Pancreas Tonic. I also use Ginger to reduce the need to urinate (I urinate the same now as I did before the diabetes), and “Circulegs” for controlling neurapathy pain.
5. Proceed with extreme caution on any prescriptions your doctor gives you. Your doctor only goes by what his pharmaceutical salesman tells him. Look up as much information as possible regarding the prescriptions your given. Many have significant side effects, which they try to claim as the exception, but they’re usually the rule.
I had ketoacidosis, and suffered a kidney stone during my initial diagnosis. My fasting blood sugar levels were at 340, and I tested at 560 after a meal. I was put on insulin, and told I would be on medication the rest of my life. I was off medication in 6 weeks, and have been doing well the past 10 years. I’m still dealing with some of the challenges of diabetes, but I’m healthier than the vast majority of non-diabetics my age. My blood sugar levels run between 130 – 200, but I don’t have any of the symptoms that I had when I was first having problems. I’m coming off a dog bite infection that has had my blood sugars between 200-280 for the past 2 months, but I still have seen only minor changes in vision as a result, but none of the other symptoms (and, of course, I’m focusing on bringing the levels down as I recover.)
StarMerchant
February 1, 2010 at 12:25 pm
You raise some good points.
Unfortunately, you’re incorrect about diabetes being related to malnutrition. Diabetes is the result of dehydration.
The reason yours was helped by eating was because when we don’t drink enough water, the body takes the water it needs from the food we eat – you ate more food and your body benefited.
When we get to the point that our body has to draw its main water supply from the food we eat, then the problem becomes one of chronic dehydration.
james
January 13, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Im 51 yrs 230 lbs fasting test around 450 high sugar for 5-6 years now never meds.did the adkins couple years works pretty good but hard to stay on long term they have refied it somme may be easier now. Found the raw for thirty diet basiclly a vegan diet or all veggies no amnial products. On it now droped blood sugars down to 130 and lost 30lbs in two weeks. I think scotts post is right on. The raw for thirty site has some good info and stunning testimonies that made sense to me. Good luck Jessica stay strong you can change your levels. ——————JAMES
Scott
February 1, 2010 at 3:17 pm
I’ve got to agree with you, Brian. My sugars were 300+ before a meal, after a meal, did not matter. My max weight was almost 450. I have started incorporating exercise and nutritional supplements and my sugars WITHOUT any meds range from 130 to 210. 2 months ago I joined a martial arts gym. I was 374. That was December 5th, 2009. I weighted myself this morning and I am an even 350. 24 lbs in less than 2 months. I feel good. I have energy. I sleep better. (I was diagnosed with sleep apnea) I eat better too. I control my caloric intake. I use the Body Bugg that they use on the biggest loser. It seems a bit expensive at first. I paid 190 through Costco with 12 months online use. This way I can see what calories I burn in a day, what calories I consume in a day, steps I have taken, and a nice graph of my weight loss progress. The key is simply eat healthy and be active. Do NOT eat things with Nutra-Sweet, Splenda or Saccharin. I am in the process of eliminating dairy from my diet. (One vice at a time) I am also limiting red meat intake soon to remove that from the diet also. And I have been without any pop since July of 09. The crap we put into our bodies is killing us. Ask yourself next time you want a diet soda or a bowl of ice cream, “Is this 10 minutes of sweet food worth being sick and dying young?”
Scott
February 1, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I don’t think malnutrition is false in regards to diabetes. I think it is part of it. Dehydration I can easily see being part of that big picture also. I am going to use your logic. If I eat 3000 calories worth of Baked Cheeto’s for the rest of my life and drink 1 gallon of water a day, do you think I will be healthy? It is a nutritional balance not many people have. And I know for a fact most people don’t drink 1 gallon of water a day, let alone 4 glasses. I drink 1 gallon of water a day as well as eat a balanced diet. I don’t listen to my doctor in regards to cutting carbs. I eat the right carbs.
StarMerchant
February 1, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Scott -
If you eat 3000 calories of Baked Cheetos, you would also be consuming 430gr of carbs and 187gr of fat. The carbs will send your blood glucose readings through the roof and the fat will get stored in the fat cells, contributing to additional weight gain. With your weight (350 lbs), a gallon of water still isn’t enough.
So, the answer to your question is no, you won’t be healthy.
In this scenario, you aren’t getting enough water to start with. So, your body will have to get the remaining water it needs from the Cheetos. This means there won’t be enough water to digest the food properly, causing your health problems to worsen.
The rule of thumb on how much water a person needs is to divide their body weight in half and this is the amount of water, in ounces, you should be drinking per day. As you can see, the gallon of water you’re drinking falls short by 47 ounces.