Insulow, evening primrose oil - what has been the effect on Blood glucose for you?

Type 1 and LADA
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Dr. Richard K. Bernstein recommends using Insulow and evening primrose oil in his book Diabetes Solution.

What has been your experience with Insulow, evening primrose oil? What dosage? As for evening primrose oil, does the brand matter? I am unfamiliar with either Insulow or evening primrose oil except for what I read in the book.

Trying to learn as much as possible from the community.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

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Dr. uses R-ALA (like Insulow) and Evening Primrose Oil (EPO, the other EPO) as what he terms insulin mimetics. They should act like a mild insulin. Taking them before meals is supposed to help your postprandial blood sugars and taking them throughout the days is supposed to help fasting blood sugars. I tried them with little noticeable effect. Others might have very different experiences.

ps. ALA is also suggested by Dr. B for treating neuropathy.

pps. Dr. B cautions that these are powerful antioxidants and that cancer thrives on antioxidants. If you have a family history of cancer these might not be a good choice.

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Thanks so much for the details and reminders, Brian!

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@Brian_BSC- Thank you for all the helpful information.

I am clueless and therefore will ask:

What do you or anyone else suggest as a starting dosage? are there side effects if you have taken too much?

Thank you for your patience.

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I find R-ALA extremely helpful with neuropathy pain. I was really happy to have discovered it!

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Bernstein recommends 2 100mg tablets of Insulow every 8 hours and one 500 mg capsule of EPO. Note that this is for use as an insulin mimetic.

I’ve not seen a good recommendation on ALA for treatment of neuropathy, perhaps others can chime in.

ps. Note that Bernstein recommends Insulow as a combined R-ALA/biotin formulation. If you find an R-ALA remember to supplement with biotin as R-ALA depletes your stores of biotin.

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@Brian_BSC, thanks for the dosage information for use as an insulin mimetic. Is there a brand of EPO that is better or more easily absorbed/used by the body? ( for example, Insulow is a specific brand that is recommended by Bernstein because it has biotin.)

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I just received my Insulow and my EPO.

I will try the " 2 100mg tablets of Insulow every 8 hours and one 500 mg capsule of EPO" a la @Brian_BSC Dr. Bernstein. :-). I’m using it as an insulin mimetic. I don’t know how quickly the effects will kick in and will keep you all posted. I saw a video and I thought it mentioned it may take 3 to 6 months for it to take effect. That’s a long time.

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I have been taking Insulow and EPO for about 5 days and do not notice any improvement in postprandial BG.

Has anyone seen their BG decrease by using Insulow and EPO?

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If Insulow is a form of alpha lipoic acid, I have been taking that for 20 years or so, so I’m not sure if it has much effect on BG, but it is reputed to be a good antioxidant to support circulatory health so I keep it up. I’ve taken evening primrose for other things with no effect on either what I was taking it for, or on my BG.

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@angivan, thank you for your feedback.

I am taking evening primrose oil together with Insulow in accordance with Dr. Bernstein - to achieve better BG So far, no noticeable lower BG from taking these two…

I was hoping that EPO may help reduce hot flash symptoms. So far, no noticeable reduction of hot flashes. After I finish the two bottles, I think I will stop.

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My update on Insulow and EPO - been there, done that. They made no noticeable difference for my BG. I have discontinued Insulow and will stop taking EPO once I finish the bottle.