Natural Diabetes Treatment

IH and anyone else - My dad has had Type II diabetes for quite a while now. I got him some supplements to help cure his diabetes. It's been about three days since he began taking the supps and it's not looking good so far.

Before the supps and on his prescription med, he tested at about 100-120 about 2 hours after his last meal. Now he scores in the 180-200 range. He also take his diabetes med at the same time so this might be hindering somewhat the effects of the supps although i doubt that.

So im wondering if perhaps this might just be a good sign that his pancreas is fixing itself or could it mean that supps just won't do it for my dad. The supps are:

Carlson Labs Nutra Support Diabetes

Blood Sugar Naturally

Life Extension Mega Benfotiamine

PS. I know this doesnt have alot to do with hairloss but I hope it's ok that I started this topic because I consider this forum one of the best alternative medicine forums around.

zerx - All diabetic medications are dangerous and actually worse than taking nothing at all--even if it means having higher blood sugar.

Getting off the drug would be important.

As far as supplements goes, there are some critical things that are needed in the correct amounts.

This supplement here is not easy to find in stores or even at many internet retailers, it is a high dose form of
Vanadium, called Vanaphage. The dose is 50 mg (milligrams, not micrograms which will be found in almost any other form). This will lower blood sugar powerfully.

Here is a link:

http://www.netriceuticals.com/listing.asp?id=1112

Another critical ingredient in the correct amount is Lipoic acid. I would suggest him using a sustained released Lipoic acid such as this one: (taken with each meal).

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=143

Diabetics need a very high biotin intake. 15,000 mcg (or 15 milligrams)

At least a 1,500 milligrams of Magnesium daily (in divided doses). Magnesium is paramount since diabetics lose plenty of it. It will improve their glucose metabolism.

Getting testosterone shots is highly recommended. This can powerfully improve sugar metabolism. This along can have profound effects in diabetics. Also he'll want to take 50 milligrams of DHEA in the morning.

Lastly, 100 milligrams of Ubiquinol (activate form of Co-Q10).

If he takes all this in addition to those others, he should see improvement.

You can have your dad try raw unfiltered/organic apple cider vinegar. When I say raw unfiltered I'm referring to a brand such as Braggs and not Heinz.

While it doesn't appear to help everyone, it does appear to be beneficial for quite a lot of people with type 2 diabetes. I would highly recommend a google search for more info. Here's one site that came up on google for ACV
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/diabetes.html

IH, what would you recommend for Females? Same Vandiam and Biotin? Anything else? Yeah I heard that diabetic medications are dangerous.

How does this list of ingredients look?
http://mx.unfranchise.com/resources/images/labels/13170_Label.jpg

randle20 - Often or always with any blood sugar formula, there is something left to be desired; either in quantity or quality.

Relating to the previous diabetes question, I mentioned a few items to add-on what the other formulas had since they were already being used. That said, I will list a full regimen for Diabetes to make this more straight forward. For females the dose of DHEA should be 25 milligrams as opposed to 50 for men.

Getting tested for adrenal exhaustion/adrenal fatigue and iodine insufficiency can make a huge difference.
Subclinical thyroid problems are often seen with diabetes.

Metabolic typing/Nutritional typing to determine proper diet. Most diabetics do well on a low carbohydrate diet.
Here's a simple alternative test to the metabolic or nutritional typing I got on this forum, so I will list it here:

Niacin test: Take 50 milligrams of niacin on an empty stomach. If you experience and immediate flush, you are most likely a fast oxidizer. If you feel a moderate flushing effect, you are a balanced oxidizer. If you experience a significantly delayed flushing or nothing at all, you are a slow oxidizer.

Or

Vitamin C test: Take 8 grams of vitamin C in equally divided doses over 8 hours. The fast oxidizer will respond by feeling acidic and uncomfortable, and may even experience other symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea or increased intestinal gas. A true balanced oxidizer may find that his or her stomach feels less acidic. A slow oxidizer will have no response at all.

Much more detail on this here: http://www.yourpersonalwebmd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=106&Itemid=118
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Diabetic (mellitus) regimen:

Vanaphage. The dose is 50 mg
Sustained released Lipoic acid 300 milligrams (taken with each meal).
Once blood sugar levels are stable, can make the switch to 100 mg stabilized R-Lipoic acid.
Diabetics need a very high biotin intake. 15,000 mcg (or 15 milligrams)
At least a 1,500 milligrams of Magnesium daily (in divided doses). Magnesium is paramount since diabetics lose plenty of it. It will improve their glucose metabolism.
200:1 extract of Aloe (this is actually a very potent blood sugar reducer)
Gymnema sylvestre (at least 250 milligrams)
Ecklonia Cava three times daily (keeps the blood thin and the inflammation down)
Cinnulin PF (150 milligrams)
Krill oil 1,000 mg
Green Tea Polyphenols, mostly EGCG 400 milligrams
100 milligrams of Ubiquinol (activate form of Co-Q10)
500 mg of Benfotiamine (triple the dose if neuropathy present)
If Neuropathy is present, add 2,000 mg of Acetyl L-Carnitine in divided doses.
If Neuropahty is present, add a good amount of Borage oil for GLA content.
500 milligrams NAC (N-Acetyl-Cysteine)
A good probiotic
A good Multi-mineral/vitamin formula containing chromium, selenium, manganese
and many others including all the B-complex, Tocotrienols, etc.
Females 25 milligrams of DHEA/Males 50 milligrams of DHEA.
Have doctor check testosterone levels (both male/female)
Consider bio-identical hormone replacement therapy
If history of hysterectomy, is is essential to use bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.

Last, but not least exercise is needed to burn visceral fat. Diet burns subcutaneous fat, but exercise is needed for the internal, visceral fat that creates inflammation. One alternative to exercise if mobility is hindered by say, an injury is to use a FAR infrared Sauna. This will burn visceral fat and flush out toxins at an amazing rate (20% as opposed to 2% in regular saunas). It's only limitation is that it is not as adept at eradicating brain waste matter, that is where exercise trumps it.

A really simple type of exercise, that is amazing for diabetics, heart patients (or anyone) is a rebounder. This is like a trampoline, and often comes with a stabilizer bar. It's an excellent way to achieve a high intensity workout for short duration; which burns the most fat and will keep inflammation down. The gravity force works in your favor as it rapidly grows new pathways (angiogenesis) to improve peripheral circulation and cardiac output. It will work better than a bypass for heart patients and is cheaper than natural bypass (EECP), which is better and cheaper than unnatural bypass anyway.

IH thats a serious regimen you just suggested! I wish my dad was the health conscious type. He is very much in love with his metformin and his equal. It gets annoying but he is only slightly distrusting of doctors when he should be avoiding them like the plague.

With that in mind, im looking to suggest to him a few very effective supplements because he's reluctant with just the three he already takes. The other issue here that I can understand, from his perspective, is that with Metformin, the effect is instantaneous while with supplements the therapeutic effect takes time.

That's why Vanaphage sounds like an excellent idea. I wish I had more info on the product such as reviews from diabetics. I am guessing you might have already suggested it to other people so I'd like to hear how they might have done and wether they even needed their meds anymore.

I don't remember where it was but I heard that sustained-release products in general are a bad idea. Something to do with the mechanism in the pill/cap but im not sure what.

As far as the testosterone shots are concerned, I can't see my dad getting convinced to do that in a million years lol. And for the magnesium, would magnesium oil be perfect for that? And the DHEA is it to level his hormones or does it serve a purpose related to insulin?

As for the borage oil, I have seen this oil being recommended alot! I guess the reason I don't have much 'respect' for it yet is due to not knowing much about it. I honestly thought and still do that fish oil and coconut oil are a good enough combo. Is the GLA available in the coconut oil? I try to get him to avoid corn/vegetable oils and hydrogenated oils but it's almost impossible since every restaurant uses these.

And lastly IH, I saw the other thread about niacinamide and Type-I diabetes. How useful could it be for a Type-II diabetics?

Thanks for your help!!!

zerx - I forgot to mention one thing in the earlier regimen for Diabetes, which is high dose Vitamin D3. D3 helps regulate the immune system and blood sugar. A lot of diabetics do not get enough sun exposure even in the summer. So Vitamin D3 at 3,000 to 5,000 IU would be a good idea.

Let's say if he only wanted to take three things. I would have to narrow that list to high dose Lipoic Acid, Vanaphage 50 mg, and 1,500 mg of Magnesium. If you had it take a forth thing, then high dose vitamin D3. A fifth thing would be Krill Oil or somekind of effective fish oil.

Testosterone optimization can create profound changes to blood sugar levels and to help reverse diabetes. It can increase heart function to remarkable levels, and if there is any problem there, it is essential. Estrogen of course can increase blood sugar problems, especially Bisphenol-A, which is found in various plastics, it's hard to avoid entirely.

DHEA reduces inflammation and decreases some of the negative effect of diabetes, improves energy and alertness.

Most sustained released products are bad, as they are hard on the liver. One of the exceptions is sustained released Lipoic acid. Incidentally, Lipoic acid is used in oral and IV use to reverse severe forms of liver disease, such as biliary cirrhosis, hepatitis C, liver poisoning, and fatty liver. Since Diabetes/metabolic syndrome is largely linked to liver health, this makes Lipoic acid a must have supplement.

I had worked in the largest center in the United States for treating diabetes in the natural way, having spent a lot of focus on the respective complications, diabetic patients, etc. I can say that conventional diabetic "treatments" are legalized murder. This sounds harsh but is it explains why the dis-ease of diabetes is perpetuated by the sick industry that treats it. There are so many industries that profit from its utter failure.

The conventional doctors do not have much of a clue and I feel very sorry for them, because their training does not include much of any real dietary or supplement intervention. To them, it is just a disease to manage.

Magnesium oil is good, but dietary Magnesium is important. If he has any problems with circulation, then Mag Oil would be great.

Borage Oil, which is a good source of GLA is good since Diabetics typically have an enzyme shortage, that makes GLA a practical supplement to overcome inflammation and myelin sheath degradation. GLA is the "good" Omega-6 fatty acid and acts in a similar way as Omega-3 with respect to prostaglandins. It's also excellent for hydrating/moisturizing the skin.

High dose Niacinamide is only used for Type I diabetics, as it can intervene in the deterioration of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas However, high dose Niacinamide is great for Rheumatoid arthritis.

Good post CS,

If it's not a problem would you be able to go into more detail regarding the link between liver health and diabetes? I noticed when I was a mild type 2 (since reversed) many of my symptoms matched those with weak/poor liver function.

IH I appreciate your advice very much!

Ok so what constitutes high dose lipoc acid, 300mg?

This might be a lil too much but do you have a timeline of what to expect. Sort of like the 'physiological changes to expect' section in the main website.

I agree with you in regards to the medical industry.
I have been trying to find a sweet but healthy alternative to Equal for my dad. My first try was stevia extract and this was very bitter. I then learnt about Rebaudioside-A and how it's supposed to be the sweet part of stevia. So I ordered Sweetleaf stevia extract with 40% Reb-A but this still had some bitterness even though considerably less. Im now not sure whether to keep searching for a near 100% Reb-A or go with the Whey Low that you recommended recently.

This might checking out and worth incorporating a couple things in. Getting my dad to eat salads and cut some other stuff out got his blood sugar under control. He can walk without a cane now. Diet above all other things can make a drastic difference.

http://www.rawfor30days.com/

isaac - When the liver becomes overburdened, its role in regulating glucose and insulin levels along with the pancreas is compromised. The liver and pancreas work in concert in keeping glucose and insulin levels balanced. For example the liver converts excess amounts of glucose in the blood into glycogen. When glucose levels drop to a certain level, the pancreas secretes the hormone glucagon instructing the liver to change its glycogen reserves back into glucose.

In conditions of metabolic syndrome, the liver and the pancreas become dysfunctional. The pancreas secretes too much insulin via insulin resistance, which is primarily a result of oxidative stress, and the livers role of producing glycogen diminishes. Therefore high levels of glucose in the blood will damage tissues (rapidly aging via glycation).

zerx - I like this stuff

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=863&at=0

Another member of the forum mentioned he likes this stuff:

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=861&at=0

As far as cooking, I think Wheylow is pretty solid as a sugar substitute. www.wheylow.com

As far as a time line, it's hard to say for just one reason. It depends on his diet and how many of the correct supplements are taken. I can say for certain that under the correct conditions that just about anyone with type II can normalize their blood glucose levels within 5 days. Within months the glycohemoglobin A1c levels can fall to near normal.

IH, for folks with Kidney impairment what can be done for Magnesium needs? I came across a fellow who is diabetic but also has Kidney issues (somewhat higher creatine values 1.7 ~ I think) and such may not be a good candidate for Mg supplementation (base on existing warnings).

Do you think Mg is so bad for someone diabetic who is starting to see Kidney issues?

According to this study Vanadium is no good and increases triglycerides? what's up?

Pub Med Article

lund - The diabetic doesn't sound too bad off with a 1.7 Creatnine level. Unless there is kidney disease where Magnesium retention begins, chances are good that he or she is deficient in Magnesium. Diabetics lose a tremendous amount of Magnesium regularly. During chronic kidney disease is where Magnesium retention usually starts.

One of the best ways to improve kidney function in a diabetic is to use slow Chelation (a long drip of 3 1/2 hours) of EDTA
of 15 to 30 treatments. Or an easier way is to take various oral metal chelators.

Regarding Vanaldyl Sulfate. 4-weeks is a short study. Here are some other studies which differ in result:

I had once worked at the largest center for treating various diseases that had the largest population history of diabetics, they have used Vanadyl Suflate (BFOV) since 1985.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19162329

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18812026

Insulin, Leptin, and Blood Sugar – Why Diabetic Medication Fails

I found this article to be very well written in layman terms that we bozos can understand, later in the article the writer talks about the supplements.

Once eye opener for me was the advise against snacking b/w meals - I have come across a number of petite ladies that swear the benefit of smaller meals every 2-3 hours...ah well

One other thing was to get plenty of soluble fibre + Protein. They guy talks about taking in Psyllium, I thought Psyllium was insoluble - grrr, I need to read more and more and more, everytime I find something interesting it ends up with "more researching..."

Depending upon one's nutritional or metabolic type may determine how long is good or bad between meals.

Fiber seems to be a good thing if carbohydrates are a primary dietary source. I suppose it could be the difference between eating a lot of starch verses vegetables.

Personally I do not subscribe to fiber, but that's has to do with my dietary type and preference.

Some do well on Psyllium, others like myself feel bloated and uncomfortable. Gluccomannan (Konjac root) is actually better
if there is interest in fiber. It can slow down blood sugar also.

IH what is your take on this product as a sweetener for diabetics, as opposed to other chemical or other types of sweeteners out there like stevia, sucralose, xylitol,etc.

http://www.upayanaturals.com/Yacon_Syrup_16_oz_raw_Sustainably_Grown_Pest_p/nfl-1260.htm

Have you heard any reviews about it?

(would it make a diff. if a person were type 1 or type 2?)

edci - If this taste works out (checked out some reviews, mostly good) looks promising. It seems quite safe.

diet is so important.
books: dr young and dr rosemead have the best ones i've ever seen on how diabetics have to eat to make a shift. it's critical. one can't eat ongoing garbage and expect to change insulin resistances and levels. i'm pre-diabetic, insulin resistan and working my ass of to flip it. doing better, but still struggling. just adding a pure green juice every day has made a small shift. diet can do way more then people realize.

also for hair i like mineral supplements more then herbals ones. using www.naturalcrown.com i like it alot.

CS - How do the results of the Niacin test translate to metabolic type? What does fast/slow/balanced oxidizer indicate?

Yanks - Here's a good link on it:

http://www.yourpersonalwebmd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=106&Itemid=118

Hi CS,

Since you've been involved with a diabetes treatment centre in the past, I was wondering if you could suggest a viable alternative for metformin.

My mom's a type 1 on insulin, but she gets spikes in her sugar and these days its mostly going quite high despite the insulin (and her diet is quite good, no junk, very limited carbs, etc.), so the doctor recommended she start metformin as well to moderate the spikes.

I was wondering if there are a couple of things you could recommend as alternatives (I've seen a long list in this thread, but if you had to pick an absolute essential top 2 or 3, what would they be?)

In the past she responded well to the Jarrow ALA sustained, but when she started the R-Lipoic it doesnt seem to be working too well, so i guess we will switch back. Anything in addition to that which would be helpful? (I know you mentioned magnesium in the past but it upsets her stomach right away, is there any way she can take it that it wont upset the stomach?)

Thanks