Optimal - The Blog

December 16, 2024

Supplements Support a Healthy Blood Glucose

Blood glucose levels are controlled by hormones from the pancreas, including insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and amylin.

Insulin helps lower blood sugar by moving glucose into storage areas like fat and muscle. When the body needs more insulin than usual to lower blood sugar, this is called insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is a major factor in many metabolic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of heart disease, type II diabetes, and other serious health issues.

Supportive Supplements

Berberine

  • In patients with metabolic syndrome, berberine treatment for one month resulted in levels of fasting blood glucose, 2-h postprandial blood glucose, and insulin resistance index that were significantly lower than those in the control group (Cao 2019).

Cinnamon

  • Cinnamon extract prevented insulin resistance in high-fructose diet-fed rats (Quin 2004).

Curcumin

  • Daily administration of 1500 mg curcumin for 10 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes caused significant changes in mean weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and fasting blood sugar (Hodaei 2019).

Chromium & Magnesium

  • Combined supplementation of 160 mcg/d of chromium plus 200 mg/d of magnesium for 10 weeks significantly improved fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance indices in insulin-resistant patients. It was more effective than either alone (Dou 2016).

Summary

Supplements like berberine, cinnamon, curcumin, chromium, and magnesium may help improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels in people with these conditions.

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CLICK HERE to learn more about Supplements to Support Blood Glucose, health consequences, etc. including suggested dosage and further research.

References

Cao, Changfu, and Meiqing Su. “Effects of berberine on glucose-lipid metabolism, inflammatory factors and insulin resistance in patients with metabolic syndrome.” Experimental and therapeutic medicine vol. 17,4 (2019): 3009-3014. doi:10.3892/etm.2019.7295

Dou, Mei, et al. "Combined chromium and magnesium decreases insulin resistance more effectively than either alone." Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition 25.4 (2016): 747-753.

Hodaei, Homa, et al. "The effect of curcumin supplementation on anthropometric indices, insulin resistance and oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, double-blind clinical trial." Diabetology & metabolic syndrome 11 (2019): 1-8.

Qin, B., et al. "Cinnamon extract prevents the insulin resistance induced by a high-fructose diet." Hormone and metabolic research 36.02 (2004): 119-125.

 

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