Do you take hebal supplements to manage your diabetes? Do you think the claims about them are oversensationalized in the media and through outlandish marketing? Here is my opinion on my Blog Three 2 Treat - Herbal Supplements - Quack or Fiction?
Let me know what you think.
Cheers.
It’s getting older, but the first place to look is the AACE’s analysis of several common supplements:
http://www.aace.com/pub/pdf/guidelines/Nutraceuticals2003.pdf
There is some evidence for a few of the supplements, like alpha lipoic acid and evening primrose oil. In Germany, ALA is even prescribed as a treatment for neuropathy. But, in the 7 years since that review was written, it’s still not settled fact yet because there’s no longterm data published yet (that I’m aware of). I’m not sure when the results of longer term studies will come out.
I do agree though that there is sometimes a strange dichotomy of thinking where someone will outright reject any doctor-prescribed drug but then freely ingest anything that’s purported to be natural without giving it a second thought. The safety and efficacy of anything, natural or synthetic, over the counter or restricted, should be weighted carefully.
Best title I’ve seen in a while :-).
It can be hard balancing the information on supplements. The FDA does not have the same regulatory authority over natural supplements, and there is no big money to be made. So nobody does detailed expensive studies. So does the lack of information mean that they are inneffective? In our perverted little world, the only things that can get proven to be effective diabetes treatments are drugs where somebody can make some serious bucks of their protected produciton.
At least herbal supplements have less side effects than many oral drugs. In Europe, they do more research on herbal remedies than they do here. Comission E is an agency responsible for studying herbal remedies in Europe. Many herbs that are used as medicine are so safe, they’re consumed as food by many people. Whether or not they actually improve chronic diseases is the main issue that’s not being studied effectively in the U.S.A. Apples, garlic, ginger, and cinnamon are some herbs that may have an effect on lowering blood sugars and are safe enough to consume daily with any meal. I figure if it’s a food, it doesn’t hurt to try it out to see if it works well for my body while I wait for my doctor to decide if I need to be on drugs.