Blood sugar is certainly a hot topic, and for good reason! The amount of glucose in your blood is an indicator of whether you have diabetes, a serious condition that affects millions of Americans and can cause a lot of health issues, including vision trouble and nerve damage.
Naturally, we all want to keep our blood sugar low and ward off diabetes, and a healthy diet full of whole foods and light on bad fats and refined sugars is certainly a good place to start. However, there are also some supplements you can take to help keep those blood sugar levels low. Before you start any supplement, keep in mind that you should check with your doctor first, as some supplements can interfere with medications.
The cinnamon has it
Delightful and widely available, cinnamon has been shown in numerous studies to lower blood sugar. One study, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, saw study participants with prediabetes — a fasting blood sugar between 100 to 125 mg/dl — take 250 mg of a cinnamon extract before they ate breakfast or dinner for a period of three months (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18500972/). Those who took the cinnamon had an average decrease in their fasting blood sugars of 8.4 percent when compared to the people in the placebo group. Researchers believe that cinnamon may help the cells in your body respond more strongly to sugar. This, in turn, lowers your blood sugar levels.
Ginseng, but the American variety
There are many forms of ginseng, and the studies done on the variety largely grown in North America have shown some promise in lowering blood sugar. One such study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, found that people who consumed this variety of ginseng enjoyed a 20 percent drop in blood sugar after a meal, and this effect was seen in both healthy subjects and those with type 2 diabetes (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29478187/).
The proper probiotic
Damage to bacteria in your gut, which can occur from taking antibiotics, is associated with a higher risk of many diseases, including diabetes. Probiotic supplements, which have the beneficial bacteria your gut may be missing, have been shown to also potentially lower blood sugar. A review of seven other studies, which was published in the Medicina journal, found that when people with type 2 diabetes took probiotics for two months or longer, they experienced a decease in fasting blood sugar of 16 mg/dl on average when compared to people who received a placebo (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26987497/).
