Medications and supplements can have an effect on blood sugar. Diabetes itself can raise blood sugar levels, but so can medicines used to treat it. Several over-the-counter and prescription medications, including some vitamins and supplements, can increase blood sugar. Here are 10 supplements that may help lower blood sugar.The daily intake of up to 3 grams of American ginseng may help reduce fasting blood sugar and post-meal blood sugar.
If you consume more than that, you may experience potential side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps, but not an increase in blood sugar. Chromium may improve the action of insulin in the body and lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes and possibly in people with type 1 diabetes, but it does not cure the disease. A systematic review found that eight out of 12 studies showed that magnesium supplementation for 6 to 24 weeks to healthy people or to people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes helped lower fasting blood sugar levels, compared to a placebo.A balanced diet is much more effective at supplying nutrients than a supplement. If you have diabetes, check with your doctor before taking ginkgo and closely monitor your blood sugar level.
Further research suggests that this herb may help lower fasting blood sugar and A1C in type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent) and may reduce cravings for sweets by suppressing the sensation of a sweet taste in the mouth (25, 2). Taking a supplement along with a diabetes medication may allow the doctor to reduce the dose of the medication, although supplements may not be able to fully replace the medication. When people with type 2 diabetes took 300, 600, 900, or 1200 mg of ALA along with their usual treatment for diabetes for six months, fasting blood sugar and A1C decreased more as the dose increased (3).Niacin supplements can increase blood sugar levels, so people with diabetes should only take them under close medical supervision. It could increase insulin degradation in the liver, leading to lower insulin levels and increased blood sugar.
Little research has been done on chromium, but little available evidence suggests that chromium may lower blood sugar levels in people with type 1 diabetes. The ADA also notes that research has been mixed as to whether the routine use of nutrients such as vitamin D and magnesium can actually improve blood sugar among people with diabetes. According to the comprehensive database of natural medicines, niacin and niacinamide can cause hyperglycemia (or high blood sugar levels, abnormal glucose tolerance, and glucosuria) or loss of sugar in the urine.
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