Do herbal vitamins and other "non-traditional" methods work?

[vos_72]

My question is regarding use of herbs or other "non-traditional" methods to lower or lessen insulin dependance in Type 1 diabetes.  I have read about different vitamins that are out there to lower blood sugar, such as cinnamon[bark}, lipoic acid, evening primose to name a few.  But when I ask my daugher's doctor about these "remedies" he said it does not help. I have given my daughter Cinnergen which is a cinnamon/cranberry liquid along with other vitamins in it. She has been on it for almost 2 months.  It seems like it has kept her blood sugars more consistent. What is your take on herbal "remedies? And has anyone else out there tried any of them and had any success?

[JDRF-VOL-RL]

Hello.  I'm not a medical professional, just the parent of a kid with diabetes.  A recent study has shown that cinnamon has no effect on blood sugars, countering the popular legend.  I can't find the link to the study results right now, or I'd post it.  

As for the others, they are all non-regulated items, with nothing to force them to be truthful in their ads, so they can say whatever they want.  There is no evidence that any of these methods do anything to help blood sugars.  If there was, it would be the most popular diabetes treatment on the market.

[kitcurious]

I once saw very old film footage exposing sick wards full of basically warehoused type 1 diabetics. This was prior to replacement insulin being available. They were young and starving. They had very short lifespans and were so sick and weak they were bundled together, about 50 per ward.
It was pitiful to see.
Thanks to scientific advances, we don't see that anymore.
The scientists who found a useful way to extract insulin in the 1920s won the Nobel Prize (they sold the patent for insulin for only one dollar, they were serving mankind) and at least three others have won Nobel Prizes for further advancements in the real work for the treatment of diabetes.
They have saved countless lives with their science.
We owe them a great debt.

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

Dietary supplements may help some type 2 diabetics, but in the case of the type 1 diabetic, dietary changes cannot fix the root problem, which is that the body's autoimmune system has damaged the pancreas. If the pancreas can no longer produce insulin, there is nothing that can be eaten that will help lower the glucose levels, for ONLY INSULIN can do that. Consistent glucose levels happen when the amount of insulin injected is a good match for the food/drink ingested.

The amount of insulin that your daughter has to take has nothing to do with the severity of her diabetes (I believe that some parents worry when a child needs more insulin, thinking that their diabetes is getting "worse"). The amount of insulin required depends on both the growing child's required amount of calories (you eat more as you grow larger, and therefore it takes more insulin to metabolize the added carbs in the diet), the child's activity level, and later, hormonal balance. It is going to vary often throughout the growing years, and will stabilize a lot when your daughter grows up. Good luck to you in helping her as she grows. You sound like a very caring mom, and asking lots of questions is a smart thing to do, for medical knowledge changes all the time, and new helps are available often.

[vos_72]

Thanks 4 ur comment. I guess in my "heart" i know these facts but as a parent of a child w/ type 1, ur always looking 4 a "mysterious cure". I have noticed this month her b/s level has been running a little high again regardless of her still taking cinnergen. So i guess it was just a coincedence last month that they were consistent.
I did have that feeling when she started taking more insulin that her diabetes is getting " worse".  I'm relieved to hear the contrary.

[james100]

I am a father of a type 1 diabetic daughter (11years old). She was diagnosed about 2 months ago. I have a feeling that A1 milk is related with this problem. My daughter has high fever 2-3 weeks before she was diagnosed. Had any juvenile diabetic got high fever before you were diagnosed?

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

to James100: it is thought that the cause of type 1 diabetes starts when a virus attacks the body, and the person's damaged autoimmune system (we type 1 folks carry genes that cause our immune systems to over-react to stimulus) makes the immune system kill off the pancreas' insulin-producing cells, mistaking them for the virus it is attacking. So it has nothing to do with what we eat or drink, but everything to do with our reaction to some virus. So, yes, high fever could be the symptom of the initial virus that attacked the pancreas. Her body may have fought off the virus successfully, but it killed her pancreas while it was at it.


I personally had scsrlet fever before diagnosis as being diabetic at about the same age as your daughter. I do wish her the best. She can live a long and healthy life, so be encouraged.

[boseephus]

I'm not even going to read these, because diabetes is a carb count insulin reaction nothing else. So you can be a vegan  and take very little insulin therefore diet can lower your intake of injected insulin but it is not a cure for type 1.