Best vitamins and supplements for diabetes type 2: Symptoms and benefits

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Blood glucose meter and diabetic food on wooden table

Do you care about your health? You have come to the right place to find everything you need to know about vitamins and supplements for diabetes type 2.

When it comes to diabetes, you need to be health aware before any supplements interaction with your body. If you want to see the products we recommend, jump straight to the bottom.

Best vitamins and supplements for diabetes type 2.

What vitamins and supplements raise blood sugar?

You will find supplements for anything and everything these days. Even when you do not suffer from an ailment. Supplements are suggested to keep  you healty and ailment-free.

According to CDC, the use of supplements is common amongst us. As adult population, over 50% adults use supplements during 2003 and 2006, with multivitamins or multiminerals being the most commonly used.

Whether you are a diabetic especially if you have pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes you may find yourself confronting  a large number of options for supplements. These supplements claim to:

  • support
  • reduce
  • even cure your diabetes

Diabetes is quite a frustrating disorder and you may find yourself tempted to try out these supplements one after another. However, is it really safe to take supplements when you are a diabetic?

let us find out!  Before that you need to understand what exactly supplements are.

Symptoms, Benefits and risks of taking supplements as a diabetic

vitamins and supplements for diabetes type 2

Supplements for diabetes type 2 may help you get adequate amounts of important nutrients in case your food is unable to provide these . These supplements can not replace a varied diet which is important for a healthy life, according to the office of dietary supplements (ods) at the national institute of health.

Scientific evidence has shown that some supplements can be beneficial in maintaining overall health and for managing some health conditions, like calcium and vitamin D supplements for bone health and for preventing bone loss and fish oil that provide  omega-3 fatty acids may help people with heart disease .

Having said this, these supplements may contain active ingredients and these may have a strong effect on the body in terms of unexpected side effects.

Another thing to be wary of, is that supplements are not medicine . so one cannot really replace the medicine with supplements. Some supplements may interact with your prescription medicines and give you really bad side effects.

  • They may reduce the effectiveness of your medicine
  • They can break down your medicine,
  • They may even produce some combinatorial effects with your medicine to produce unexpected side effects

Some may increase bleeding and should therefore also be stopped if you were about to have surgery or take blood thinning medication .

Diabetes with type 2 and their consumpion of vitamin supplements

Following are some of the supplements that are popular in the diabetic immunity. Let us see what science says about the supplements.

How they work, if they do and how safe these are.

Vitamins

While type two diabetes is a disorder link largely to carbohydrate in fat metabolism, it’s complex and multifactorial nature also lead to the involvement of certain vitamins or lack of these. In someway, some vitamins have antioxidant functions.

Oxidative stress is a result of waste products called free radicals that are created when body turns food into energy. Diabetes is a disorder where there is a lot of cell damage due to oxidative processes leading to diabetic complications and therefore antioxidant therapy sounds sensible.

Other vitamins are important due to weather effects . Let us find out which vitamins have been linked with diabetes and could be recommended.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is made up of  various but similar components . Retinol is the most active form and is present in animal tissues while carotenes are present in vegetable tissues which are converted into retinol when we eat them. A protein that transports retinol is called the retinol binding proteins, RBP. It has been found to have an affect on insulin sensitivity .

Studies have shown that type two diabetics who are very old  have lower levels of vitamin A.  Another study show that levels of beta-carotene in the blood of diabetics were significantly lower than non-diabetics. Although the retinal concentration were normal.

This study also found that levels of RBP in the blood in urine were much higher in  diabetics then in non-diabetics. This makes sense because the body will produce more of this transport proteins in case of vitamin A deficiency to make sure it is able to capture all the available vitamins.

Vitamin A is essential for all the cells of your body and particularly the skin or the membrane of the call and for that reason it is really good for your skin. It is what we call an anti-oxidant which mean that it protects you from anything that is burnt.

Sunburn for instance is protected with Vitamin A. It is worth supplementing and a decent supplement will provide you with 7500 units of Vitamin A. You can also tell how much better carotene you have got in your system by literally looking at the color of the palm of your hands.

Vitamin B

How much vitamin b12 should a diabetic take?

B1 – low levels of the B1 and increased clearance by the kidneys have been observed in both type 1 and  type 2 diabetics.

One month supplementation with B1 was also found to decrease blood glucose and left in the appetite hormone levels. This vitamin may therefore be useful for diabetics. Vitamin B1 supplementation should not be overdone as this may actually increase the risk of developing diabetic complications.

There are studies that show the supplementation with B3 may increase HDL good cholesterol, reduce LDL bad cholesterol and triglycerides. In this way they may be helpful to diabetics as most diabetics also have issues with high cholesterol.

However,  there are also studies that show the B3 supplementation may slightly increase the risk for those who already have prediabetes to develop type diabetes and overdoing it. Supplementation with vitamins such as B1, B2 and B3 may increase oxidative stress and insulin resistance thereby increasing the risk of diabetic complications.

Vitamin C

People with type 2 diabetes have high levels of oxidative stress due to high blood sugar levels and therefore require more vitamin C, which is a potent antioxidal. Vitamin C concentrations have been found to be low in diabetics . Higher vitamin C concentrations are linked to reduce levels of a C1 and blood glucose.

Diabetes also leads to teeth and gum disease where vitamin C supplementation along with dental procedures . Scaling and root planning has been found to improve chronic teeth and disease and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics. Controlled research has also shown that vitamin C supplementation for three months resulted in:

  • lower blood pressure
  • blood glucose levels
  • an increase in anti-oxidative enzymes

Too much vitamin C can cause side effects like diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps . People who have hemochromatosis due to which their body store excess iron should be extra cautious taking this Vitamin as it can worsen iron overload.

Vitamin D

There is evidence from a finished study that vitamin D may be important in changing the risk of diabetes. There is also a suggested but not proven association between vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, the effect of lack of vitamin D on pancreatic beta cell dysfunction ,impaired insulin action and inflammation in the body.

Some cohort studies like one Australian study have also shown an association between low vitamin D levels and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D toxicity may happen if you take too much vitamin D. This can cause nausea ,vomiting, lack of appetite ,constipation, weakness and weight loss.

Vitamin D and high doses can also raise the blood levels of calcium causing confusion, disorientation and problems with a heartbeat. Too much vitamin D can also damage kidneys. Please note that vitamin D poisoning only happens with vitamin D supplements.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the bark of a particular family of tropical treats. Studies until now have found some blood glucose lowering effective compounds in cinnamon and cinnamon extract.

The results have been largely inconclusive due to lack of large scale controlled studies on people regarding the efficacy and safety of cinnamon supplementation and whether the effects of cinnamon will last long-term.

It is thought that the way cinnamon works in reducing blood glucose are by increasing the effect of insulin through different mechanisms like increasing the sensitivity of insulin receptors. Activating glucose transport, inhibiting intestinal alpha glycosidase in a manner similar to the diabetes drug a carbos apart from others.

Side effects of cinnamon or not very well documented in people. Cinnamon in oral form is considered safe for most people in doses up to 6 grams daily for up to six weeks, although some people may be allergic to cinnamon or it’s parts.

Brown Seaweed wakame is a rich source of nutrients like Icosapenninoic acid. Omega-3 fatty acid, fiber, magnesium and zinc. Most of the studies on it have been done so far only on animals.

While studies showing its effect on reducing obesity have been done in the past, it has been found to reduce insulin resistance. It was unable to prevent obesity and inflammation in one of the more recent 2016 studies published by Owen colleagues from Korea.

Insulin resistance and inflammation are hallmark signs of diabetes and thus wakame seems to have potential and used by the diabetics.

Protein powder

protein powders shakes for diabetics

Protein powder supplements are usually whey supplements. Whey is one component of milk protein and comprises about 20% of milk protein.

It is a good source of amino acids and the peptides produced its the digestion have bioactive properties. Diets with low glycemic index are thought to be protective against type 2 diabetes. Adding protein in the diet  produces the glycemic index and is thus useful.

There is a 2010 study by Pal and Ellis from Australia which shows that whey protein meal produces a higher insulin response and reduced appetite compared to casing, egg, tuna or turkey proteins.

A 2009 study by Peterson and colleagues from USA found that whey protein supplement reduces the after meal rise in blood sugar. There is suggestion of long-term improvement of insulin sensitivity when whey protein is taken for 12 weeks.

Freedom colleagues from Sweden had already found in 2005 for such an effect is also seen in diabetics.  Adding whey to a meal high and easily digesting carbohydrates help stimulate insulin and blood and reduced after meal high blood glucose.

Apart from insulin whey proteins also seem to increase the incretin hormone release in the gut as was showed in a clinical trial by Jakubowitz and colleagues from Israel in 2014. In the light of slightly conflicting data on the use of whey protein and regulation of insulin and blood glucose more studies are needed to make any claim. 

Anyway, protein powder is a good choice if your looking for supplements for diabetes type 2.

FAQ

Magnesium supplements have displayed to diminish fasting glucose levels. Each 50mg increment of magnesium portion delivered an undeniably improved outcome on glucose. Magnesium is liable for insulin emission and movement on body tissues.

One of the most outstanding complete multivitamins for diabetics with type 2 accompanies a unique cell reinforcement mix to help invulnerable wellbeing. Nature’s Way Completia is a finished multivitamin planned explicitly for diabetics

Vitamin B-12 uses carbs, proteins and fats into glucose. Glucose is the body’s primary wellspring of energy. Vitamin B-12 lack can hence cause low glucose levels. One of the principal side effects of hypoglcemia is weakness and vitamin B-12 enhancements are generally used to treat serious exhaustion.

  • Cinnamon
  • Chromium – Chromium is a fundamental minor component
  • Vitamin B-1. Vitamin B-1 is otherwise called thiamine.
  • Alpha-Lipoic Acid
  • Alpha-lipoic corrosive (ALA) is a strong cell reinforcement.
  • Unpleasant Melon.
  • Green Tea.
  • Resveratrol
  • Magnesium

Standard portions of vitamin D right off the bat in life have been displayed to lessen the gamble of creating type 1 diabetes. Vitamin D treatment has likewise been displayed to improve glycemic control and insulin responsiveness in individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and in ordinary people.

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