The safer, more effective supplements you need in your medicine cabinet
Despite mounting evidence showing that nutritional and natural approaches to healthy blood sugar trump diabetes drugs, many doctors still don’t get it…
Sadly, they don’t realize that relying on insulin-like drugs to deal with excess blood sugar is NOT the solution. Of course, insulin is a great approach for type 1 diabetes, and was a breakthrough when it was discovered nearly a century ago. But it’s not the best solution for type 2 diabetes, which has since become a worldwide epidemic.
Unfortunately, the discovery of insulin halted the development of natural remedies for blood sugar dead in its tracks for decades.
The good news is, plenty of new science has put the spotlight back on the benefits of using natural methods for healthy blood sugar.
And unlike drugs, these ingredients also have many other health benefits—and none of the dangerous side effects.
Powerful blood sugar benefits from an ancient “golden spice”
One of my all-time favorite natural remedies is the ancient South Asian herb turmeric. As I discussed on page 2, this golden spice gives curry its trademark pungency and warmth as a popular and potent cooking spice. Thousands of studies now show one of turmeric’s active ingredients, curcumin, can help prevent and reverse everything from arthritis to dementia.
As I wrote in a recent Daily Dispatch (“Popular cooking spice offers tremendous health boost”), curcumin has a potent ability to control chronic inflammation.
And of course, inflammation is the culprit in many serious health conditions—including diabetes.
Indeed, there are a number of very convincing studies on curcumin’s effects on blood sugar and insulin sensitivity—both of which are key factors in type 2 diabetes.
In fact, one study showed that curcumin is 400 times more powerful than the popular diabetes drug metformin for lowering blood sugar.1 If you have high blood sugar, I recommend working closely with your doctor to include curcumin in your daily regimen.
Another study showed that curcumin can delay or even prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.2 About 16 percent of the study participants who took a placebo were eventually diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within nine months. But none of the participants who took 250 mg of curcumin daily developed the disease.
In another recent animal study, those treated with curcumin experienced a near complete reversal of diabetes in just 10 months.3
Other research shows curcumin can also help prevent some of the most common and debilitating complications of diabetes, like neuropathy, eye problems, and erectile dysfunction.4
Curcumin’s four-pronged attack against diabetes
Researchers have discovered that curcumin suppresses the activity of certain white blood cells called macrophages. The presence of these cells indicates that you have chronic inflammation—which if left untreated, can lead to a host of chronic diseases like diabetes.
Curcumin also protects the beta islet cells of the pancreas, which produce, store, and release insulin—the key blood-sugar regulating hormone.
In people with type 1 diabetes, these cells are relentlessly attacked and destroyed, making it so that the pancreas is eventually unable to produce insulin. But in those with type 2 diabetes, the body loses its ability to respond to insulin and has trouble producing enough. So protecting these beta islet cells is of the utmost importance.
And an important lab study found that these pancreatic beta islet cells grew faster and lived longer in animals that were given curcumin.
Curcumin also improves insulin function by helping it get into your blood cells—thus reducing insulin resistance.
Best of all, curcumin can block sugar from getting into the blood in the first place. Curcumin makes this possible within your microbiome by eliminating the sugar you ingest while it’s still in your GI tract—before it ever makes its way into your bloodstream.
Better together
Earlier, I mentioned how in one study, curcumin was much more effective than metformin in lowering blood sugar. And other studies show equally impressive head-to-head benefits between curcumin and other drugs.
For example, curcumin has been shown to be more effective than common drugs for arthritis pain, particularly when acting together with other botanical remedies like boswellia and ashwagandha.
Of course, that’s one of the many advantages of botanicals. When taken in combination, the natural synergy between them improves their effectiveness and broadens their benefits.
Indeed, evidence also indicates that curcumin can be even more effective at supporting healthy blood sugar when combined with the following natural ingredients:
• Ginger. This herb benefits both digestion and metabolism, along with healthy blood sugar.
• Chromium. This essential trace mineral helps balance glucose levels by regulating the amount of sugar you take in and how your body uses insulin. It also decreases your body’s insulin requirements, which is especially beneficial for those with insulin resistance.
• Vanadium. This mineral can improve insulin sensitivity in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. It’s also been shown to be highly effective in reducing blood sugar levels.
For years, I’ve shied away from making specific dosage recommendations for natural blood sugar remedies like these because the science just wasn’t there.
But as I mentioned above, research is finally catching up. And I’m thrilled to announce that, thanks to these scientific advancements, I’ve finally been able to accomplish something I’ve been hoping to do for years: formulate a nutritional supplement that incorporates therapeutic doses of key, science-backed ingredients to support healthy blood sugar.
I’m currently in the final stages of developing this breakthrough formula, and it should be ready in the next few weeks. So stay tuned to my Daily Dispatch e-letter and Facebook page for the latest updates.