Supplements for Blood Sugar Maintenance

Dietary Sources of Blood Sugar Imbalance

Sedentary lifestyles, obesity and sugar-rich diets are prevalent in our society. These result in challenges to your body involving blood sugar levels and insulin activity.

In 1975, T.L. Cleave, M.D., published The Saccharine Disease, which stated that blood sugar control problems are characteristic of modern Western diets. In 1994 - 1996, studies showed that Americans aged 2 years and older consumed the equivalent of 82 grams (2.9 ounces) of sugars per day from added sweeteners, which accounted for 16% of all calories consumed. This figure, which reflects consumption of about 65 pounds of sugar per year does not include the sugars added to foods as binders, fillers, and preservatives, nor the sugars which occur naturally in fruits, milk, and other natural foods. In recent years the consumption of simple sugars has increased even more as a result of the campaign to reduce the amount of fat in the American diet.

Blood Lipids - Blood Sugar

High levels of blood fats and high levels of blood sugar interfere with each other's proper regulation and metabolism. The presence of excess glucose in the blood interferes with the use of fat for energy and through the action of the liver, elevates the level of triglycerides and their storage as fat. On the other hand, the presence of excess fats in the blood interferes with the disposal of glucose.

To optimize the regulation of blood sugar, both blood glucose levels and blood fat levels must be taken into account.

Special Supplements for Blood Sugar Maintenance

The table below shows preliminary results from patient populations with normal to slightly elevated blood glucose. Enhancing the diet with supplements will have varying effects on individual patients.

Supplement	Dose	Reduction	From	To	Parameters
Fish Oil¹	3 g/day	-3.3%	90mg/dL	87mg/dL	n=30, t=90 days
Neptune Krill Oil™¹	1-1.5 g/day*	-6.3%	105mg/dL	98mg/dL	n=30, t=90 days
Neptune Krill Oil™¹	2-3 g/day*	-5.6%	92mg/dL	88mg/dL	n=30, t=90 days
Neptune Krill Oil™¹	1-1.5, 0.5 g/day**	-6.6%	105mg/dL	98mg/dL	n=30, t=180 days

* Dose range dependent on BMI (body mass index).
** 1-1.5 mg/day for first 90 days, 0.5 mg/day maintenance dose for next 90 days.

Neptune Krill Oil™

In human studies, Neptune Krill Oil™ supplementation demonstrates anti-aging characteristics, makes women feel younger, demonstrates anti-wrinkle fighting power, supports healthy joints, the heart, lipid and blood sugar levels, energy production, athletic performance and liver function, and eases women's PMS symptoms.

Neptune Krill Oil™ is the first product featuring phospholipids specially integrated with omega-3 essential fatty acids for building healthy cell membranes. Neptune Krill Oil™ also provides antioxidant protection.

More information on Neptune Krill Oil™ may be found here.

Glucose / Carbohydrate Metabolism

A range of vitamins and minerals support glucose / carbohydrate metabolism. B-vitamins are required for glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, the metabolic pathways by which the body converts glucose into cellular energy. Chromium is believed to work closely with insulin to facilitate the uptake of glucose into cells. Manganese is also involved in glucose uptake.

Insulin / Pancreatic Activity

Insulin is secreted by the pancreas in response to high blood glucose levels after meals. Without insulin, glucose cannot enter cells to provide fuel for cellular energy. Certain nutrients support these vital metabolic processes, including mediation of insulin release and activity, and enhancing insulin sensitivity. N-acetyl cysteine protects pancreatic beta cells from oxidative damage in animal studies. In addition, zinc and selenium are notable for their insulin-like actions.

Chromium

Chromium is the mineral most associated with blood sugar control because in its trivalent form it appears to improve the absorption of glucose into the cells. Chromium potentiates the effects of insulin by improving its ability to bind to its cellular receptor.

If a lack of chromium is responsible for the suboptimal clearance of blood sugar by insulin, supplemental chromium will mean that less insulin is needed to control blood sugar levels. This means that energy levels can also be stabilized and the extreme fluctuations of hunger associated with hypoglycemia can be avoided because there is no longer an excessive release of insulin.

The usefulness to the dieter and to those with tendencies to high blood sugar is obvious. Just as important, however, is the fact that chromium has been shown to help moderately decrease unwanted blood lipid levels, both of LDL cholesterol and of triglycerides, while actually raising the levels of the desirable HDL fraction of the blood.

Alpha Lipoic Acid: The Antioxidant Glucose Regulator

References

Bunea, R. Khassan, EF, Deutsch, L. Evaluation of the Effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the Clinical Course of Hyperlipidemia; Alternative Medicine Review; 2004; Vol 9, No. 4; 420-8.

Blood Glucose Levels