If you have diabetes, you may have been tempted
to try herbs, minerals, or other supplements. They are sometimes touted as being able to help control blood sugar levels.
There have been some small studies that have suggested that some herbals might have some effect on decreasing blood sugar, but I'd also suggest you read
Dietary Supplements
from the
Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition of the
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. They state:
The FDA regulates dietary supplements under a different set of regulations than those covering "conventional" foods and drug products (prescription and Over-the-Counter). Under the
Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994
(DSHEA), the dietary supplement manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement is safe before it is marketed. FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market. Generally, manufacturers do not need to register with FDA nor get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements. Manufacturers must make sure that product label information is truthful and not misleading.
FDA's post-marketing responsibilities include monitoring safety, e.g. voluntary dietary supplement adverse event reporting, and product information, such as labeling, claims, package inserts, and accompanying literature. The Federal Trade Commission regulates dietary supplement advertising.
If you read that closely, you'll see that the FDA has no authority to regulate the content or claims of
producers of these "alternative" products, except for denying the manufacturers the right to claim to treat disease, and to check the safety of the products.
Or to put it differently, they can make claims to "help" but not to "treat" diabetes or other conditions.
If you have
type 1 diabetes,
these products will not help reduce or eliminate the use of insulin.
If you have
type 2 diabetes,
these products, together with exercise and meal planning, may
help reduce or eliminate the use of insulin or diabetes pills. But I'd put my money on the meal planning and exercise, and
the weight loss with subsequent lessening of obesity-related
insulin resistance,
as the real reason for improvement of blood sugars, not the alternative product.
Also see
Supplements
from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
Unproven Therapies
from the American Diabetes Association.
Dietary Supplements, Herbs, and Hormones
at Quackwatch.
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