Diabetes update

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After learning back in May my A1C was 13.9 I had to do a life change. I eliminated soda and junk food.
I started walking and am up to 3-4 miles a day.
The doc put me on Metformin, 1000mg a day.

Last week after a follow up my A1C was 6.0 and weight was down to 208 from 232! I'm 6'3".

He was surprised! Metformin was reduced to 500mg, I was hoping to get off it.

I feel a heck of a lot better and had to buy new clothes.

I have been looking for a good multi vitamin. There is so much on the market its hard to make a selection.
I do take this supplement.
https://www.samsclub.com/sams/mm-cinnamon-cinsulin-170ct/prod17960395.ip?xid=plp:product:1:4
 
I would ask you doctor. My doctor is not fond of multivitamins. From blood test results I am only on B12 and D.

He suggested iron if I give blood several times a year.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
I would ask you doctor. My doctor is not fond of multivitamins. From blood test results I am only on B12 and D.

He suggested iron if I give blood several times a year.


I have not asked. This is my primary doc, I have not gone to a endo yet. I should probably go to one to get a new set of eyes on this.
 
I take Life Extension two per day vitamins. This is very subjective, but, I seem to have more energy on these vitamins. Congrats on the A1C and weight loss :)
 
My wife is a type 1 diabetic. She is 5'8.5" and 121 and people can't believe she has diabetes, but they don't understand the difference between ytpe 1 and type 2. There are some people that being overweight by only 20 pounds will make them a type 2 diabetic and some thin people have type 2 diabetes but it's rare. My wife's doctor told her to take selinium everyday and a baby aspirin in addition to injecting insulin.
 
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I've been a type 2 diabetic since 2012. I purchase Jarrow vitamins since they have a good quality control and testing. I take one B Right capsule and one lutein softgel 20mg. Lutein is good for the eyes and that is a concern with diabetes. I also take two fish oil gels a day as well.
 
Cinnamon - good to know, thanks,

I found this pack,
https://www.costco.com/Nature-Made-Diabetes-Health-Pack%2C-60-Packets.product.11661873.html

I think the key component is magnesium and alpha liponic acid
 
I use a cello pack of daily vits from Nature's Code. Plus 300 mgs of fish oil After a few weeks, my joint pain is greatly reduced.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
I purchase Jarrow vitamins since they have a good quality control and testing. .


But they are not USP certified. How do you know they have good testing? They told you? Less than 1% of vitamins are certivied by reputable testing agencies. I only ever buy Nature Made..The wife buys stuff I don't approve of but..she is her own wonan.

sites...g


Sounds like you are doing well though. Probably should not change what you are doing.
 
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Good job on dropping the weight and junk foods. Fighting diabetes is not much different than the steps to fight heart disease, cancer, alzheimers, etc. Walking is great. I'd try to add in at least 2 aerobic exercise sessions per week. Walking hills would do it. I bike 10 miles 2-3X per week because I can't run anymore and long walks stiffen up my back. Some people might swim. The cardio will improve weight loss, fat reduction, raise HDL, lower LDL, etc.

I've used the NOW brand multi-s for nearly 10 years. Currently I take are NOW Adam softgels (180 capsules for $39). I take one a day for a maintenance dose of all major vits and minerals. This is high in B vitamins as well as some "men's health" supplements. It's iron free. Iron is a free radical. And chances are you get plenty of iron from eating meat. Most men don't need supplemental iron as it tends to build up over time. Giving blood is one of the ways to get rid of it. Having been stationed in the UK during the 1980's I'm not allowed to give blood under current Red Cross guidelines.

Your multi-vit should have D3/cholicalciferol. If you have the D2/Ergo type, it's not as potent. You'll find the D2 in cheaper supplements. Any supplement you take should ideally be certified by a respected lab to ensure what the bottle claims, is what you get. The best way to get vitamin D3 is from sun's UVB rays for 15-45 min per day...during peak hours. It's far more efficient than supplements or via food sources. Since Vit D3 has been shown to play beneficial roles in combating auto-immune diseases (such as diabetes) I consider it a must. In Missouri you can't get adequate D3 from the sun from late Sept to early March.

Besides getting rid of sugar and junk foods, I'd limit pasta and breads the best you can as they are processed foods with low nutrition. Try quinoa, veggies, etc. Even regular orange juice is high glycemic. Better to eat the actual fruit instead. I pretty much cut out pasta, bread, fried stuff, sugary stuff, and boxed cereals. These days my breakfast are cooked steel cut groats (the unprocessed form of oats/oat meal), flax meal, cinnamon added along with 100% cacoa powder. Rather than fish oil (which can oxidize easily), I try to get non-farmed Salmon 2X per week.
 
I did some research on cinnamon 5 years ago when a relative recommended Ceylon Cinnamon as very potent. Rather than the more common Cassia type you find in the super marts. I found no difference in how I felt or in my blood work. So I buy the cheap stuff and use it liberally. Some other foods beneficial to diabetes/insulin control:

A lack of D3, chromium, B vits, Vit C, Vit E, CoQ10, Magnesium, zinc, vanadium are some things known/thought to help combat diabetes. A good multi-vit should actually be helpful. Eat more beans, nuts, seeds, veggies, whole grains (not processed pasta), oats, ground flax seeds, garlic and onions, supergreens. The majority of Americans are D3 deficient, even when eating fish, milk, etc. You really need to get it from the sun or supplement daily at the 4K-8K IU level. I'd have your blood tested for D3 your next physical, just to know you are in the "good" range of 40-80 ng/ml. The USDA min of 20 ng/ml is pretty much to prevent rickets, not optimize health or prevent disease.

Avoid cow's milk. More Omega 3 fats and less Omega 6. The ALA and Chromium in your Cinnamon supplement are also known to be beneficial...so is the gymnema left and fenugreek seed.

Head to nutritionfacts.org for much more research and factual data on diabetes. Very worthwhile.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Good job on dropping the weight and junk foods. Fighting diabetes is not much different than the steps to fight heart disease, cancer, alzheimers, etc. Walking is great. I'd try to add in at least 2 aerobic exercise sessions per week. Walking hills would do it. I bike 10 miles 2-3X per week because I can't run anymore and long walks stiffen up my back. Some people might swim. The cardio will improve weight loss, fat reduction, raise HDL, lower LDL, etc.

I've used the NOW brand multi-s for nearly 10 years. Currently I take are NOW Adam softgels (180 capsules for $39). I take one a day for a maintenance dose of all major vits and minerals. This is high in B vitamins as well as some "men's health" supplements. It's iron free. Iron is a free radical. And chances are you get plenty of iron from eating meat. Most men don't need supplemental iron as it tends to build up over time. Giving blood is one of the ways to get rid of it. Having been stationed in the UK during the 1980's I'm not allowed to give blood under current Red Cross guidelines.

Your multi-vit should have D3/cholicalciferol. If you have the D2/Ergo type, it's not as potent. You'll find the D2 in cheaper supplements. Any supplement you take should ideally be certified by a respected lab to ensure what the bottle claims, is what you get. The best way to get vitamin D3 is from sun's UVB rays for 15-45 min per day...during peak hours. It's far more efficient than supplements or via food sources. Since Vit D3 has been shown to play beneficial roles in combating auto-immune diseases (such as diabetes) I consider it a must. In Missouri you can't get adequate D3 from the sun from late Sept to early March.

Besides getting rid of sugar and junk foods, I'd limit pasta and breads the best you can as they are processed foods with low nutrition. Try quinoa, veggies, etc. Even regular orange juice is high glycemic. Better to eat the actual fruit instead. I pretty much cut out pasta, bread, fried stuff, sugary stuff, and boxed cereals. These days my breakfast are cooked steel cut groats (the unprocessed form of oats/oat meal), flax meal, cinnamon added along with 100% cacoa powder. Rather than fish oil (which can oxidize easily), I try to get non-farmed Salmon 2X per week.



Great tips! Yes, I have dumped pasta and breads. If I do bread it's Wonder 100% Whole Wheat Bread. My sandwiches are now wraps.
I weaned myself off OJ and now eat a lot of fruits and veggies.

I'll look into the NOW Adam.

It has become a numbers game.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I did some research on cinnamon 5 years ago when a relative recommended Ceylon Cinnamon as very potent. Rather than the more common Cassia type you find in the super marts. I found no difference in how I felt or in my blood work. So I buy the cheap stuff and use it liberally. Some other foods beneficial to diabetes/insulin control:

A lack of D3, chromium, B vits, Vit C, Vit E, CoQ10, Magnesium, zinc, vanadium are some things known/thought to help combat diabetes. A good multi-vit should actually be helpful. Eat more beans, nuts, seeds, veggies, whole grains (not processed pasta), oats, ground flax seeds, garlic and onions, supergreens. The majority of Americans are D3 deficient, even when eating fish, milk, etc. You really need to get it from the sun or supplement daily at the 4K-8K IU level. I'd have your blood tested for D3 your next physical, just to know you are in the "good" range of 40-80 ng/ml. The USDA min of 20 ng/ml is pretty much to prevent rickets, not optimize health or prevent disease.

Avoid cow's milk. More Omega 3 fats and less Omega 6. The ALA and Chromium in your Cinnamon supplement are also known to be beneficial...so is the gymnema left and fenugreek seed.

Head to nutritionfacts.org for much more research and factual data on diabetes. Very worthwhile.


I agree with this. I eat a LOT of nuts now instead on M+M's. Pay attention to fiber as well.
Sourdough bread seems not to spike my sugar levels.
I have been trying things I thought I would never eat, LOL
Some times as a snack I drink a Glucerna. They are decent frozen.
I have not run across nutritionfacts.org in my reading. Thanks! I'll look into it.

I'll ask at my next physical.
 
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I heat with firewood so I cut it with saw and split all mine by hand. Plus I walk a lot at work. Sit-ups and push-ups and a $70 weight bench and some iron weights found at township dump help. I was 270, now all way down to 197 and losing more.

I don't eat eggs or do milk, maybe almond milk once in a great while. Oatmeal for me, half avocado a day and chick peas, black eye peas with some kale and homemade salsa I'm in heaven

Glad you are doing much better sir
smile.gif
 
If you eat a reasonably well balanced diet you don't need multi-vitamins. Full stop.

Just an opinion? Possibly but we live by that comment. We never take vitamins or eat "health food" either. Though we do eat "healthy food".

If you do a bit of research I think you'll find that consuming vitamins is associated with less good health outcomes. Though I suspect that may be because people who don't consume vitamins are more likely to eat a well balanced diet and are taking care of other risk factors.
 
I guess I should qualify the "you don't need multi-vitamins" opinion by saying it applies only to non-pregnant adults. But then I don't suppose many Bob's readers are female, let alone female and pregnant.

Pregnant women benefit from oral iron with folic acid. The folic acid is to prevent neural tube defects. And iron deficient females will benefit from oral iron (though iron is not a vitamin).

A small print exception is that folks (usually female) with "Pernicious Anemia" benefit from Vitamin B12. Pernicious anemia is a specific well defined autoimmune disease caused by the lack of "intrinsic factor" in the stomach. You would be hard pressed to find a North American who doesn't have enough Vitamin B12 in their diet; the lack of "intrinsic factor" is the problem - not the diet.

And I won't offer any opinion on children.
 
Originally Posted By: ecotourist

If you do a bit of research I think you'll find that consuming vitamins is associated with less good health outcomes. Though I suspect that may be because people who don't consume vitamins are more likely to eat a well balanced diet and are taking care of other risk factors.



I think you'll find that those people who are dedicated and informed enough to eat a healthful diet tend to be the ones who do supplement, especially as you get on up into early middle age (40-45 yrs). 100 yrs ago I'd agree with you that you could get everything from food. But, not likely today with the weak soil we now grow our crops in and raise our animals on. Minerals were far more prevalent in the old soil than today. And that shows up in foods having far less nutrients. Then processing them or overcooking them (boiling, microwave, etc.) removes even more nutrients. To get everything you need from food alone you cannot screw up on even one meal per day....every calorie of 2000-2500 per day has to be optimized. You can't skip a meal or cheat. Each one has to jammed pack with the best available foods. And unless you drink a couple dozen glasses of milk, or a pound of fish every day, you aren't getting near enough Vit D3 for optimum health during the Oct-March period over approx 90% of the USA. Unless you eat a large brazil nut every day, you are probably falling well short on selenium, one of those nutrients that used to be quite dense in the "old soils" when our great grandparents farmed.

If you want a review of what will help you based on thousands of case studies as of 2010 read Guy Daniel's book on Nutrition (Reduce Your Healthcare Costs Through Natural Medicine). He reviewed thousands of studies and came up with seems to work, what hurts, and what levels can't hurt or are safe. My synopsis of his work is that a multi-vitamin (not even necessarily every day), supplemental Vit A, D, K are probably beneficial. The D3 is almost a slam dunk. Most people don't get enough K/K1/K2 from greens...especially if you aren't eating kale or fermented soy products (ie most of us). The synergy of A, D, K is both complex and still not fully understood. Together they play key roles in vascular and bone health. If one of them is too low or too high, that's a problem. In most people, they all tend to be too low. Daniels concludes most everyone needs at least supplemental Vit D and K, if solely for proper bone health. Fish/fish oil (unoxidized), probiotics, and CoQ10 are other supplements that are likely beneficial. As we age we manufacture less CoQ10 and many middle aged adults don't make enough. On iron, for adult men or middle age, he leans toward blood donations to keep iron levels from accumulating. Similar to mercury (from fish and dental fillings), Iron is an excellent oxidant that helps you "rust" inside.

Daniels recommends consumerlab.com ($30/yr) if you want access to accurate lab testing info as the quality of supplements is all over the map. One thing he is pretty clear on, you can't supplement one thing with most vitamins. A proper balance is the key. Too much D3 without proper A and K can actually calcify your tissues and weaken your bones. It's simply a lot of work, a lot of research, and quite an expense to eat very healthy. Few have the time or have done any research.

Another excellent book for anyone looking for the basics of health and nutrition for aging adults is Prime Time Health by Dr. William Sears.
 
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