Blood Sugar Balance

In 2007, 246 million people had diabetes globally; that number is expected to grow to 380 million by 2025. Despite its world-wide prevalence, most people don’t recognize prediabetic symptoms, never receive treatment for them, and are unaware of natural treatment alternatives.

Prediabetes occurs in people who have higher than normal blood sugar levels that still fall below the diabetic range. People with prediabetes run a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Balancing act

The following health risks, collectively known as metabolic syndrome, elevate your chance of developing diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Your health practitioner should monitor these health risks:

• High blood sugar
• High triglycerides (a fat in the blood)
• High blood pressure
• Low HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
• Excessive body fat in the abdominal region

Supplement Safety Net

Researchers have discovered many botanicals and supplements to help regulate blood sugar imbalances.

Banaba Leaf Extract

Lagerstroemia speciosa, or banaba leaf, extract’s glucose-lowering effect may be useful for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia and obesity in type 2 diabetics.

Chromium

In a double-blind study (Saudi Medical Journal, 2000) chromium improved blood sugar control and reduced drug dosage when subjects took both brewer’s yeast and chromium chloride.

Pterocarpus Marsupium

Other studies have focused on Ayurvedic remedies. In one study reported in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry (2002), subjects’ blood glucose was reduced by 60 percent after they took Pterocarpus marsupium for 30 days. This remedy is derived from the heart wood of the Indian Kino tree.

Alpha-lipoic Acid (ALA)

This antioxidant has been used extensively in Europe for over 30 years to treat diabetic neuropathy, nerve damage caused by diabetes that results in pain, burning, itching, tingling, and numbness of extremities.

A recent study (Diabetes Care, 2006) concluded that subjects who took 600 mg of ALA once a day for five weeks reduced their neuropathic symptoms. Research on ALA is still in its early stages.

If you have diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, or Alzheimer’s disease, discuss taking ALA with your medical health practitioner before doing so.

Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is, indeed, a balancing act for some, but there are many natural strategies to keep it in check.

Do I have Prediabetes?

Prediabetes often has no symptoms. Watch for the classic symptoms of type 2 diabetes, which include:

• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination
• Extreme hunger
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing sores or frequent infections

–Source: Mayo Clinic