In addition to my current regimin of metformin and 10 units of insulin, I want to try some natural remedies.
Has anyone tried this?
BItter Melon juice
Cinnamon in my soy milk
I figure what have I got to lose. Hopefully I will see lower numbers!!!
I tried both of these. Bitter melon fruit did nothing. Bitter melon extract pills seemed to result in a modest drop in blood sugar, but the effect disappeared after a week or two. Although there seems to be a lot of research supporting the efficacy of cinnamon, it never did anything for me. Perhaps you will have better results.
Absolutely they both work. My GP asked me to try his Chinese herbs that he prescribes to his T2 patients and I found a 20% improvement in response to insulin. He said bitter melon was one component. I did that experiment a few years ago.
I understand that cinnamon has chromium in it and I have preferred chromium, as it's easier, as I can get 90 tablets for under $5 and if you cut them in half or 4 they will crumble, but start small as these supplements might make a huge difference. When I put cinnamon in black coffee, I force myself to consume the goop at the botttom of the cup and that's why I prefer the chromium tablet which is also cheaper, but not as flavourful. Sure, I like the cinnamon flavour, but not the goop. When I mixed cinnamon with yogurt, that was counter productive as I like yogurt too much and would eat more of it, which necessitated more insulin be taken. I did once chew on the long cinnamon sticks they use in expensive coffee drinks etc. that most people end up throwing out, like they throw out parsley put on their plate...too bad, as they are both goood for you.
Chromium lasts longer in the body than B vitamins. But rather than taking one for one day and skipping a day, I suggest splitting them and taking a little each day with your meal that is the largest. You won't need it at every meal. But taking a little more often is wiser than on and off again as that causes more wild swings.
Chromium is actually an essential mineral to help insulin attach at the receptors. If you are LOW on eating vegetables of a green type grown in soil with chromium in it, you could be LOW. It takes 12 cups of broccoli to give 120 mcg of chromium which is about 1/4 of that tablet of a 500 mcg level. However, not all of supplements actually gets absorbed. So always take with food to help in assimilation through full digestion.
I predict you are not eating enough beef of a lean type because it might be too much trouble for you if you do not see yourself as a cook. Don't eat beef at fast food restaurants because of the bread that has too much carbohydrate in it. That would be for extremely active people. It sounds like you may be more sedentary. I know from my experiments that on days I walk 5 miles or more I need 1/3 of the amount of insulin.
So if you take a capsule of B50 B vitamins that is more easily absorbed than a tablet and should be taken with food to ensure proper assimilation, you will find it helps a lot. One man diabetic for 3 years at the time I started helping him found he could drop to 1/2 the mount of insulin with the supplements and the B50 2 times a day evenly spaced as it washes out in the urine 80% within 8 hours.
A different man who was newly diagnosed with an HbA1c of 8.9 found that with taking the supplements I suggested, he did not even need the metformin as his HbA1c dropped to 6.1 and he lost 22 lbs to a fully normal weight. He had only been a little overweight from alcohol and candy so he stopped those right away so he could live a long time and watch his children have families. People do tend to worry and feel depressed when diagnosed, but they have also just joined what is a health club of conscientious people. So, one year after his diagnosis he was healthier than ever.
I don't recommend B100, but rather B50 twice a day because of the water soluble nature of B vitamins. They wash out into the toilet, so save your money. Taking a B50 with breakfast and at dinner is the way to spread it over the day.
Your cholesterol prophile will improve if you take Calcium Ascorbate form of vitamin C 4 times a day, as that also is water soluble, so spread it out. It works to donate electrons to free radicals and hence lowers internal damage and the body needs to create less cholesterol for use as a repair substance. I only recommend the Calcium Ascorbate version as it is already buffered with calcium to prevent the body pulling out calcium from the bones to balance the pH level in the blood.
In order to get good fats and vitamin E use natural nuts as your snack food, but remember each ounce is 165 calories. But I think I would rather eat nuts than swallow pills of oil. Don't eat a lot in a day or weight gain results, as one ounce is a very small amount.
How much do you eat of green vegetables? Raw is preferable, or only lightly steamed. Any water vegetables are cooked in should be used to make soup, so the vitamins are not wasted.