Supplements to Lower Blood Sugar

Chromium

• Diabetics respond differently to insulin on the cellular level and supplementing the body with a mineral supplement like chromium picolinate will help the cells in the body respond properly. According to information website Battlediabetes.com, studies have found that people with diabetes tend to have low chromium levels in comparison to those without the disease. This finding eventually led to the conclusion that this increase in insulin sensitivity among diabetics taking a chromium supplement would lead to their ability to stabilize blood sugar more easily, according to Naturalnews.com. The chromium appears to not only lower high blood sugar but also makes it much more difficult for levels to fluctuate.
  
  

Salacia Oblonga

• A study at Ohio State University suggests that an herb found primarily in India and Sri Lanka known as salacia oblonga is as effective in lowering blood sugar as prescription medicines are. The study claimed that 1000 milligram doses of extract from the herb combined with a liquid supplement containing the polysaccharide maltodextin lowered blood sugar levels by up to 29 percent. Researchers also believed that the herbal supplement could stop the progression of impaired glucose tolerance to diabetes, therefore preventing the disease in many people.
  
  Those taking salacia oblonga reported frequent gas as a side effect and some reported mild gastrointestinal discomfort, but no major side effects were seen in the study.
  
  

Zinc

• A relatively new discovery finds that diabetics have a zinc deficiency. Studies on whether zinc supplementation is actually beneficial to diabetics contradict one another and more studies are required to determine all the facts, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
  
  What studies have shown is that Type I (insulin dependent) diabetics should not take a zinc supplement because it actually has an adverse effect on blood glucose control. However, in Type II diabetics, zinc appears to be beneficial in some ways. The recommended dosage is not more than 30 milligrams per day. Advocates of zinc supplements for diabetes say that the benefits can be obtained by taking a supplement or eating zinc rich foods such as oysters, sardines, lamb, pecans and almonds.