Hello

I know this site is mainly all about the diets for diabetes etc. but could i possibly ask whether anybody has had any goodresults from supplements incorporated into their low carb eating.

I get confused by the amount of supplements touted to help diabetes (I am prediabetes and dont want it to progress. I do eat very low carb…am now underweight as a result as i wasnt overweight to start with – hoping to find some lovely recipes on here as my diet is getting very boring…I have been susing some supplements specifically touted for being good for diabetes etc but have not seen any results yet as my last HbA1c was higher than the last one despite all my efforts.

You read about fenugreek, chromium, biotin, berberine, bitter melon, alpha lipoic acid, turmeric, milk thistle and of course cinnamon and apple cider vinegar. increasing your magnesium intake etc etc….and of course high fibre…chia seeds etc. (you couldnt possibly take that lot and add it to your regime of usual supplements..i take krill oil, co enzyme q10 a multi vitamin and vitamin C and zinc anyway as i have done for years.

I have tried and still take…fenugreek, chromium, biotin and turmeric and recently added alpha lipoic acid…(although Dr Mosely has said in on of his blogs that research shows no real health improvements with supplemental turmeric but only in the actual spice used in cooking…(and pepper seems to activate its health properties).

I am a bit confused about chromium as i have read that apart from it being crucial in diabetics….that ti could make things worse…..and as i have taken these specific supposedly blood glucose lowering drugs for the past 4 months to find that my HbA1c is hgher has made me worry whether they could be making the situation worse.

Could i also ask anybody please……I was diagnosed as pre diabetic in october of last year at an HbA1c of 6.1%…so panicked and did the whole thing…dropping carbs…never did refined ones anyway……eating ultra healthy (low carb can only be healthy i feel) and exercising more and inadvertenly losing a stone in weight in the process to a tiny 7 stones now……..I was mortified that after all of this to find that 5 months later my HbA1c had risen to 6.2%

I think this insulin resistence and pre diabetes has been festering for very many years…….could it possibly be that it might take longer to see a better result in my HbA1c….that things will not happen overnight. i have always eaten healthily and been slim. I have felt like almost throwing in the towel and feel so disappointed at the recent results..but my fasting at 4.9% was better than it had been for many years.

Its just that i read that as soon as people lsoe weight and change their diet their levels and tests come down…..i cannot understand why mine were higher.

many thanks and any thoughts would be very much appreciated….feeling very lost in all of this and not knowing what to do for the best……thats why i thought fasting might be my only hope if it can help regenerate things……treat the diabetes and not just the symptoms…..but jason fung states that fasting is relatively contraindicated in being underweight. i dont know what to do for the best.

Hi worried, the difference in the 2 results is miniscule and not to be worried about. The fact that 6.0 is the top range of normal you are only just over that so not even really pre-diabetic but something your doctor would probably keep an eye on. You dont say what other test you have had but when my husband was at 6.3 and his triglycerides were also a bit too high that rang alarm bells. We went dry January so no alcohol and he greatly reduced his carbs but didn’t really follow the diet i.e. he still likes a cake and a croissant at the weekends but weekdays he said no to potatoes etc. The next test he had his bloods were 5.2 and tri’s were well below the top level. So for him it was a success, I just have to keep him on track. As for supplements, all I take is a good multivitamin daily just in case but generally my BSD diet plan has excellent nutrition. P.S. I am diabetic and my HbA1c has gone from 8.2 to 5.4 but it does go up now and then and last test was 6.1 and when I moaned about the increase the doctor said that was perfect.

Thank you sunshine girl you have made me feel a lot better. My triglycerides are usually around 0.5 and highest 0.6…
I dont drink alcohol..very boring. Your husband`s results are excellent…well done. You also sound as though you are doing very well indeed.
I have a terrible confession…will mention this as I have only just done the terrible deed. I have literally eaten low carb with absolutely no treats whatsoever over the last 5 months….beyond ultra healthy. Because my results have gone up (and thank you again for making me feel calmer about them) whilst in marks and spencer today buying the usual vegetables and fish etc i bought a lemon drizzle cake and some pouring cream…I was feeling so fed up about the whole thing and that all my hard efforts seemed in vain……..I cannot believe that i literally ate half the cake – i poured cream over it hoping it wouldnt sky rocket my BG and also drank some apple cider vinegar beforehand………I am not concerned by my weight as only 7 stones now and far too skinny. I ate the cake and cream as though i had an eating disorder…….(i have never actually done anything like that in my life before but feel i have got it out of my system…i crushed the rest of the cake and into recycling…….i just had to do it and have now become sensible again and wish that i hadnt..comes from being a human being i guess and watching too much celebrity bake off).

I am going to delve into the recipes on here when i get time with work and make my meals more interesting.

I also wonder also whether the beta blocker i take is still the culprit – i took a combination of three drugs (two of which have been dropped) that can cause diabetes for a very long time .(apparently beta blockers also block the release of insulin by interacting with nerve signals in the pancreas (pancreatic beta cells) and thus lower insulin levels even when glucose is high. Maybe this is why my results did not improve despite all my efforts because it was never my weight or diet causing the problem in the first place (although i do feel that diabetes is not all down to lifestyle i think there are very many factors…even prolonged stress etc).

Thank you again very much indeed. Thank you for making me feel better and more relaxed about my results. I am sorry that you have diabetes but feel you are incredibly well informed and on top of things…..wish my HbA1c was 5.4 !! i have to hope that maybe one day it will.

All the best

yes worried 5.4 is good but I also inject with insulin so it is hard to get down by not messing up my doses and insulin also increases weight. Put the lemon cake behind you and start again tomorrow, what is done is gone. You have a point with your medications which is why us diabetics are keen on this plan because we know we are being given meds to counter the meds then the new meds give us more problems so we need more meds and so on. BUT do not get rid of any meds without talking to your doctor. The book says blood pressure will go down and we might need to stop BP meds but my doctor wont allow it neither will he allow me to stop taking statins. At the moment they do more good than harm so I will continue but really want rid of my insulin and other diabetes meds.

Keep on keeping on…

Sunshine – you never know….maybe one day your meds will be a thing of the past …….i hope so for you.
Re the meds……my GP did actually ask me whether my BP had improved on a low carb diet……and of course i would never just drop the drug…especially a beta blocker. Thinking a new generation one like carvidelol might be better as does not have such metabolic impact….do need to sort that out.

Take care and thank you again.