Blood Sugar Support
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Blood Sugar Support combines several of the most effective and well-proven blood-sugar balancing nutrients and herbs which have been studied successfully over years. Our patients receive consistently excellent results for improving mildly elevated blood sugar or for control of type 2 diabetes, with enduring improvements in fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1C over months and years. Blood Sugar Support has a generous dose of chromium, 500 mcg, in an absorbable chelate form and vanadium as the biologically active vanadyl sulphate.
Gymnema is a classic blood sugar balancing botanical with a long track record of use. The addition of cinnamon bark in the ample dose of 200 mcg standardized to the optimal concentration of 3% polymers, magnify the benefits of chromium. Gymnema is standardized to 25% gymnemic acids so that we know it delivers reliable amounts of the active constituents. Our patients like the convenience and economy of having high-potency blood sugar remedies all in one bottle.
About this product
Chromium has been featured in numerous studies with patients who have type 2 diabetes and it has shown to decrease fasting glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, and lower insulin levels. By improving insulin activity, chromium can also help to reduce total cholesterol and triglycerides and boost ‘good’ HDL, all of which can be impaired with diabetes. Chromium is an essential nutrient for human life and is widely distributed in small quantities in foods; however, the refining of flour and sugar has depleted chromium levels in many diets. Metabolic stress and strenuous exercise can increase chromium needs if blood glucose rises. Chromium deficiency is common in type 2 diabetes.
Chromium is part of glucose tolerance factor, GTF, which also includes niacin. GTF is necessary for insulin to function optimally to move glucose into cells; without chromium, insulin fails, and blood sugar levels rise. Evidence shows several ways in which chromium may work. It may increase insulin sensitivity and stimulate insulin receptor sites; similar to metformin, experts believe that chromium decreases insulin resistance. It may also increase insulin binding to red blood cells, increase insulin receptor number or enhance receptor proteins, increase insulin internalization in cells, or increase pancreatic beta-cell glucose sensitivity.
Restoring normal insulin activity may boost nitric oxide synthesis and help to open blood vessels and improve blood flow. In non-diabetic people, chromium can also lower total cholesterol by 10%, which translates to a 20% reduction in heart attack or stroke risk.
Chromium is popular in weight-reduction programs as it stimulates thermogenesis (fat-burning) and stabilizes blood sugar. It can improve lean body mass by moderating fat deposition, helping amino acids enter into muscle tissue, and shrinking fat stores. Over ten weeks, chromium was found to facilitate the loss of 4.2 pounds of pure fat, and even more impressively lead to an average gain of 1.4 pounds of muscle, which is a fat-burning tissue.
For acne, studies of skin biopsies have found that glucose tolerance may be impaired in the skin, even with normal blood glucose. Acne has been called “skin diabetes”. Dermatologists have had success healing acne by giving insulin either systemically or even into the skin. There are preliminary findings that chromium along with sugar-balancing gymnema, and vanadium may bring rapid improvements for patients with acne.
Gymnema is a plant from India’s tropical forests with a long history of use for diabetes. Recent scientific investigation confirms gymnema can help stabilize blood sugar in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Gymnema may support regeneration of beta-cells in the pancreas that make insulin, increasing the number of pancreatic cells and improving their function to help the body make more insulin. Clinical observation shows that gymnema can help reduce sugar cravings helping patients more easily enjoy a low-carbohydrate diet.
Gymnema may also interact with insulinotropic enteric hormones so that more insulin is released. Human evidence suggests that gymnema may be efficacious as an adjunct to conventional drug therapy for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It appears to enhance the action of insulin in type 1 diabetes, increasing glucose utilization, and improving blood sugar control, sometimes allowing patients to reduce their insulin doses. For type 2 diabetes, in clinical studies, gymnema led to reduced doses of oral hypoglycemic drugs because of better blood sugar balance. With sustained long-term use, gymnema appears to lower serum glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.
Gymnema has also been reported to restore levels of glycoproteins in diabetics to normal. It may prevent diabetic micro-angiopathy, impairment and narrowing of small blood vessels, that leads to poor blood flow and damage to eyes, kidneys and heart. There is also early evidence that gymnema can help lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Vanadium is a mineral that can improve or mimic insulin’s effect on cells. Research shows that vanadium can improve glycemic control by enhancing glucose transport into cells and by improving glycogen and lipid synthesis to reduce glucose and fats in the blood. Vanadium inhibits gluconeogenesis and lipolysis so that less glucose is made, and less fat is broken down into the blood stream.
Vanadium may work through activation of several key components of insulin-signaling pathways which include the mitogen-activated-protein kinases, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and protein kinase B, leading to enhanced phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3. Vanadium compounds may also modulate insulin metabolic effects by inhibiting protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP). According to review data, vanadium doses of 500 mcg or more may stimulate glucose oxidation and glycogen synthesis in the liver in humans.
Cinnamon bark helps the body use insulin more effectively has been shown in clinical research to mimic insulin and reduce fasting blood sugar in 83% of subjects. It also lowers body fat, enhances lean body mass, lowers systolic blood pressure, and brings improvements in various antioxidant measures. Cinnamon slows the rate of stomach emptying after meals by 34-37% in studies, which then slows the entry of glucose into the blood. Cinnamon stimulates insulin receptors and prevents those receptors from being inactivated, enhancing glucose transport into cells. Even small doses of cinnamon have been found in a US Agricultural Research Service report to lower blood glucose in type 2 diabetics by 20%, and to also cut cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Other research found that cinnamon helps skeletal muscle to absorb 17% more blood sugar per minute, likely by improving insulin-signaling. Cinnamon can help normalize blood sugar levels even in the presence of a high-carbohydrate diet. For people with type 2 diabetes, cinnamon reduces blood fats: triglycerides by 23-30%, “bad” LDL cholesterol by 7-27%, and total cholesterol by 12-26%.
Contents
2 capsules provide:
Biotin 4.5 mg
Chromium (as chromium polynicotinate) 500 mcg
American Ginseng Root Extract (as Panax quinue folium) (Standardized to 10% ginsenosides) 225 mg
Holy Basil Leaf Extract (Ocimum sanctum) 400 mg
Fenugreek Seed Fibers (as Trigonella foenum graecum) (standardized to 2.5% steroidal saponins) 400 mg
Gymnema Sylvestre Leaf Extract standardized standardized to 75% Gymnemic Acids 62 mg and 38 mg standardized to 25% Gymnemic Acids
Cinnamon Bark (Cinnamomum zeylancium blume) 200 mg
Vanadium (as vanadium citrate) 250 mcg
Other Ingredients: Vegetable Cellulose Capsule, Silica, Leucine
This product does not contain artificial coloring, flavoring or sweeteners, unnecessary excipients, ingredients of animal origin, gluten, dairy, fish, shellfish, egg, sesame, tree nuts, peanuts, or GMOs.
Cautions
Always take natural remedies under the supervision of your health care provider. Do not use Blood Sugar Support without the advice of your healthcare professional if you are taking insulin or hypoglycemic drugs including but not limited to metformin, glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (DiaBeta), pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), chlorpropamide (Diabinese) or tolbutamide. Gymnema, chromium or cinnamon bark can decrease blood sugar and reduce the doses needed for insulin or medications. Monitor your blood sugar closely.
The constituents in Blood Sugar Support may also reduce blood pressure so track your blood pressure regularly and work closely with your physician if you take medications for high blood pressure such as hydrochlorothiazide, atenolol, losartan, verapamil, spironolactone, diltiazem (Cardizem), amlodipine (Norvasc), or natural remedies for blood pressure.
Chromium is very safe, though there have been reports of increased vivid dreams.
Do not use Blood Sugar Support during pregnancy or lactation unless under the guidance of your physician as blood sugar can naturally change significantly during pregnancy, and there is insufficient data about safe use during pregnancy.