Alternative therapies popular among diabetic patients
July 2000; Volume 3; 75
Acanadian study recently found that 30% of all diabetic patients regularly supplement their diabetes medications with alternative therapies—a finding that parallels the boom in alternative medicine’s popularity as a whole. Although patients are willing to look beyond traditional treatments for their disease, scientific research is still trying to separate the real help from hype.
Diabetics appear to have significantly lower levels of antioxidants in their bodies than normoglycemics. Antioxidant supplements may be an answer, but the search is on now to find the proof. Some researchers say they are close to linking alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) with preventing nerve damage in diabetic patients.
Lester Packer, PhD, is a professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at the University of California in Berkeley. In rat studies, Packer found that ALA supplementation brought measurable free ALA to the nerve cells, preventing or slowing nerve damage by up to 70%. He also found that the higher the dosage of ALA, the higher the amount of the antioxidant retained in the nerves.
Packer says he suspects that ALA may be instrumental in preventing the onset of diabetes since it helps improve the glucose utilization by muscle cells.
"If oxidative stress is a significant factor in diabetic complications, then antioxidant therapy is a logical candidate for preventing or ameliorating those complications," Packer says.
ALA is found in tiny amounts in potatoes, spinach, and red meat. To get 50 mg per day, one would have to consume 300 pounds of spinach.
July 2000; Volume 3; 75
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