Lipoic acid is a strong free radical scavenger and a powerful antioxidant. Numerous positive effects associated with Lipoic acid use on various aspects of Diabetes Type 2 and its potential complications have been studied. In particular, Lipoic acid has been found to improve glucose utilization in both obese and lean patients with Diabetes Type 2.
In one study, Lipoic acid, given for only 19 days to patients suffering from the Diabetic neuropathy, proved to significantly diminish the sensation of pain, burning and numbness in the feet, compared to the placebo.
Another study suggested that the use of Lipoic acid may protect against some of the cardiovascular complications associated with Diabetes Type 2
A recent study conducted in the University of Michigan implied that the preventive use of Lipoic acid among diabetics may facilitate wound healing while preventing the development of non-healing skin ulcers formed as a result of minor skin abrasions.
Lipoic acid was also found to provide endothelial protection to the kidneys. As a result, the degree of albuminuria (loss of protein in the urine) was observed to significantly decrease in patients treated with Lipoic acid.
Chromium is a trace mineral. Trace minerals are essential minerals which the body needs in only very small amounts.
Chromium was found to augment the action of insulin, a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin is vital for the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.
In the late fifties brewer’s yeast supplementation was found to avert an age-related inability to maintain normal sugar levels in the blood.
Chromium was recognized as the active factor of this "glucose tolerance factor".
A number of papers published encouraging results about Chromium supplementation. Chromium supplements are commonly known in the form of Chromium picolinate. One extensive experiment, testing a large population of individuals, evaluated the effects of various doses of Chromium picolinate against a placebo. HbA1C is a laboratory test that can assess the blood sugar fluctuation of a few weeks prior to the blood analysis. HbA1C readings drastically improved in the group receiving Chromium. Fasting glucose levels had also lowered in the group taking Chromium.
Cinnamon has already been in use in traditional Greco-European and Ayurvedic medicine for a few thousand years. A recent study conducted in Hanover, Germany, suggested that supplementation with Cinnamon bark reduced fasting blood sugar level more than 10%.
It is believed that the Cinnamon in the Cinnamon bark enhances the body’s ability to absorb insulin in living cells, thereby naturally augmenting the action of this hormone. The Agricultural Research Service has, in fact, applied for a patent for the blood-sugar reducing compound Methylhydroxy Chalcone polymer (MHCP - the active compound in Cinnamon). MHCP has been proven to raise the body’s glucose metabolism rate by about 20-fold. MHCP in cinnamon may be effective in people suffering from Diabetes Type 2.
Studies demonstrated that
Bilberry decreases Blood sugar levels, reverses the thickening of the blood vessels and repairs vascular damage. In this role,
Bilberry plays an important part in controlling
Diabetes Type 2 and preventing many of its potential complications.
Bilberry is actually one of the most frequently prescribed herbs recommended by Italian herbalists.