Supplements question

Given the large number of scams and disinformation sites there are on the Internet that target diabetics, I have been a sceptic for many years. Just wondering though if anyone has tried the products from what they call the Health Sciences Institute - see link.
If this is a scam somebody should be in jail, if any of it is true somebody should have won the Nobel prize for medicine by now.

As far as supplements go, I don’t believe many of them have any REAL value. I try to get as many from food as possible, but I do take D3, because it’s very difficult to get enough sun in the Pacific Northwest. I would ask your Primary Care doctor if there are any deficiencies in your diet that need shoring up.

If it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. The cure for Type 1 has been five or ten years away for the last forty years, so someone who claims to have a cure for Type 1 or Type 2 is trying to sell you something. Once you have diabetes, you’re now working to control it.

Every once in a while–for fun–I will visit the site of someone trying to sell kale shakes and refute all the nonsense they are spouting to make a sale. It’s especially funny when they say something like, “you’re just repeating what Web MD says.” Then I drop the whole, “No, I’m actually a Type 1 diabetic and you’re a moron.”

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Those of us with diabetes walk around all day with a bull’s eye on our forehead. Everybody is out there scamming us. And this is yet another one. I think we have to be very careful with companies and people that approach us selling products. They often cloak themselves in words that make it appear that they are selling things that are backed up by science, but like in the Wizard of Oz, when you peak behind the curtain, it is a sham.

So let’s start with the Health Sciences Institute (HSI). Read their Terms of Service:

Medical Content

The contents of hsionline.com, including text, graphics, images, information obtained from our licensors and all other content, should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction and is offered on an informational basis only. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this site. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being, including but not limited to the following:

1. Making any adjustment to any medication or treatment you are currently using.
2. Stopping any medication or treatment you are currently using.
3. Starting any new medication or treatment

The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgment available to the authors, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. No content is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

So you shouldn’t take anything that is on the site as being medically valid, it is just “informational.” And what does the site suggest HSI actually does? They want you to sign up (for a fee) to receive “information,” by their books (more advertising) and to go to their other company Northstar Nutritionals to by expensive supplement products. So let’s look at a diabetes product, this one called “Advanced Glucose Support” which costs $50 for a month’s supply. Here is what is in it:


OMG, it is Vit D3, Magnesium, Chromium and Berberine. For this they want you to pay $50. These companies should be ashamed of themselves for ripping of people with diabetes. Run away, fast, run away.

ps. And neither of these companies are listed by the BBB, that says something.

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I agree with @Brian_BSC and @Timbeak48, of course – but IF you wanted to take Vitamin D3, Magnesium, Chromium and Berberine in those quantities, $50 is fairly comparable to what you’d pay if you bought them separately - though most people who take D3 tend to take considerably more than 600IU, I believe.
Meanwhile, it’s probably FAR superior to get the magnesium and chromium you need from food, rather than supplements. Berberine may or may not be useful (it’s supposed to do some of what Metformin does with fewer side effects for some people – but is considerably more expensive than Metformin these days…).

So we’re left with Vitamin D3 – and that is clearly available in far larger doses (or quantity for more adjustable dosing) for a lot less than $50/month.

I still think it is a ripoff. I get D3 and Magnesium at Costco for $11.99/600 day supply and $14.49/150 day supply respectively. And Chromium is $4.99/90 day supply and Berberine is like $10.99/60 day supply. These are basically common supplements but marketed as a “secret special” formula and it is clearly markedly more expensive than other common sources of these supplements. I’ll still run away.

It ain’t only the Pacific Northwest (I live here, too). Most Americans—actually, most people in the developed world—are vitamin D deficient in some degree. It’s interesting to contemplate the reasons why, but it’s a fact. And given the physiologic and metabolic importance of D, one can’t help but wonder whether it is one of the many factors in the equation of things like the growth of diabetes and other diseases.

I don’t have a Costco membership, so I don’t currently have access to those prices. So far, the options I’ve seen have been at least somewhat more. I still get your point. Some people would pay a bit more, though, for one pill, rather than four.

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I would agree with Thas’s point about some people (me included) being willing to pay a bit more for a combo pill than for individual ingredients. What with the two meds I am taking for diabetes, the three I am taking for high blood pressure, the one for cholesterol, the blood thinner and the folic acid I have quite a bit to keep track of throughout the day. However, I am still a bit concerned about the claims that company is making on its website as they come close to stating that your diabetes will be cured if you take their product. Also, one of the supplements they recommend, chromium, was pretty much debunked some years ago as the claims about most people being deficient were based on a survey of residents in an area of North Africa whose diet had no resemblance to what we eat here in North America.

Like I said - chromium, and probably magnesium, are best maintained through diet - there are enough good sources of those nutrients. Chromium in supplement form may even be dangerous, according to some studies. I believe the jury is still out on the efficacy of berberine for blood sugar, though most think it’s at least fairly safe.
Of course, their claims of a “cure” would be headline news if they truly worked. As has been said many times in the past, though - something that you need to continue to take/do/follow for life does not meet the definition of a “cure” in my book. Management, yes. Treatment, yes. Cure means it’s over – and clearly this miracle formula doesn’t make that happen.

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I guess another example of the difficulty in defining a cure are the cases of morbidly obese individuals who have developed type 2 diabetes and then lost up to several hundred pounds following a stomach tightening operation. Afterward the weight loss their blood sugar tests are normal, blood pressure is ok as is cholesterol, so all symptoms of diabetes appear to be gone. The one thing we can be pretty sure of though is that if they were to reverse the surgery so they could go back to their old lifestyle of gluttony, and they gained back those 200 lbs., all the symptoms of diabetes would be back with a vengeance. That situation though is extremely hypothetical and it is unlikely anyone would be a candidate for testing it.

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Tuning in late and distracted by other issues…“defining a cure”…

I have found through extremely careful and complex analysis over a decade—for a T2 striving to achieve numbers within “normal” parameters…“Cure” is not an admittable term. Period. “Control” works…And for how long is incredibly variable…If we are talking about delaying meds that are probably inevitable…

I probably shouldn’t have added this tonight…Going away…

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Supplements – I buy mine through Puritan’s Pride. Best discount deal I’ve found.

What to take? I was one of those non-believers in supplements and such. Didn’t even take a daily vitamin. But, when I got rid of my crackers GP and started going to an Endo, the first thing he did was TEST!! My first visit was 2 hours long. It was a thorough assessment of everything. He made a list of the problems he saw in my blood work. He had my whole picture in mind. Started me with a multivitamin, calcium and low does aspirin. Due to my age added fish oil. Because of my gastro problems I am on Nexium. It saps you of magnesium and causes horrible leg cramps so now I take magnesium. Every decision to add something was based on my blood work. My B12 was non existent so I started with weekly shots and now am on daily pill – that effects your nerves/neuropathy issues.

So supplements? Yes. Do I select based on the latest advertisement? No. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I trust the testing/science and how I feel and when my Endo recommends. But I get the feeling not everyone trusts their doctor like I do. He works hard, he is a specialist, he is trained to research what is new and truly effective. He listens to my symptoms, problems, concerns. Doesn’t anyone else make these decisions based on what their doctor recommends? For me, that’s the best way not to get scammed. My Endo has been my advocate and I’ve kept my numbers in control.

Be well.

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All of my supplements are based on medical advice. Vitamin D is a good example. Blood work showed that I was very deficient so we started with 2,000u a day. Next blood draw showed that was having little effect, so we upped it to 5,000. That made a difference but nowhere near enough, so we raised it to 10,000. That has kept me in the reference range for several years now.

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As a Type 1 female with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (my Endo and my Gyno call me their little mystery) I not only do not make insulin but my PCOS will make me insulin resistant. One food (that can be taken as supplement form) that affects my BG and resistance hugely is bitter melon. Sometimes I eat the bitter fruit and sometimes I take the powder form. Recommend for Type 2’s.