Dietary Supplements

If there were a supplement you could buy at the health food store that would radically improve your diabetes, we would all know about it by now and we'd be wishing we had bought stock in the company. However, scientists are hard at work growing a generally small, but interesting, body of evidence about the effectiveness of several herbs and dietary supplements in the management of diabetes. Fighting diabetes with supplements may not be such a far-fetched idea.

Reviewed by Susan Weiner, R.D., M.S., C.D.E., C.D.N. 3/08

Alpha Lipoic Acid Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a potent antioxidant supplement used to prevent and treat various conditions.	Chromium There are scientific controversies about the use or need for chromium supplementation by persons with diabetes.
CoQ10 Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like substance that helps cells make energy and acts as an antioxidant.	Omega-3s Omega-3 fatty acids come from fish and some plant foods and have in recent years been revealed to be powerful disease preventers.
Garlic Garlic is a potent herb, both in cooking and in its health giving properties.	Magnesium Magnesium is a mineral with dozens of crucial functions in the body, including handling blood glucose.
Vitamin D and Calcium for Better Blood Sugar These nutrients play important roles in maintaining normal insulin function and glucose control. Check out the research.