We all read the newspaper and magazine articles about the newest miracle supplement. Bonnie can remember when friends sneaked chromium tablets to each other at a spa to help with weight loss, headaches, and to cure other nonspecific ailments. Like aroma therapy from the year before, the pill bottles now sit in dressing room cabinets with the oils when the results proved too little or too slow.
We all wish for the “magic pill”. In doing research for this question, we found, as we frequently do, that research just brings up more questions as to what we know for sure and how to interpret information for ourselves.
What appears to be most universal in the books and articles published on vitamin and mineral supplements, is that many doctors prescribe a vitamin/mineral supplement to diabetics because they are concerned that poor glucose control which leads to frequent urination, causes loss of nutriments.
From this point, the research on vitamin and mineral replacement becomes more complicated. The most striking fact is that suggested government daily requirements are based on research done on healthy subjects.
Since people with diabetes may have other medical disorders, merely following these guidelines or complying to a new regime touted by researchers may not be beneficial to you. Also, the amounts of vitamins and minerals required for good health are small, and can be acquired, for the most part, by eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetables, and fruits. If you are spending as much on supplements as on your medication, stop and think!
Vitamins
Vitamins function as co-enzymes and attach to specific protein substances in cells. Each cell has a maximum capacity to combine the vitamin and protein so it is biochemically impossible for excess vitamins you ingest to function as vitamins. In fact, with vitamins and minerals it is wrong to think that “more is better,” as megadoses of some can be dangerous.
There are 13 known vitamins for humans. These are organic substances which can be divided into two categories related to the way they are absorbed by the body. Vitamin A, D, E, and K are fat soluble, which means they are absorbed with the help of fats or bile and are stored in fat.
The eight B vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble. These vitamins are stored in the body in amounts to last from a few weeks to months. The liver is the main storehouse and it releases stored vitamins which the body needs, but which are not available from the diet.
One B vitamin we read a lot about if Folic Acid or Folate. Women of child bearing age take this vitamin to prevent spina bifida and other birth defects, but recent research correlates folic acid with reduced death rates from heart disease. More studies are necessary to replicate these findings, but this is worth a conversation with your physician.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic substances. In the body, the amount of minerals is larger than that of vitamins. Those minerals which are needed in the largest amounts are called major and include calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Trace minerals are needed in much smaller amounts and include iodine, copper, manganese, fluoride, zinc, iron, chromium, selenium, molybdenum, arsenic, boron, nickel, and silicon.
Minerals are important in almost every body function including oxygen transport and maintaining proper chemical and fluid balance. When combined with vitamins, minerals produce enzyme activity or become components of enzymes or hormones.
The two minerals of most importance to the majority of us are calcium, especially for bone growth in young children, lactating females, and post menopausal women; and iron. Research has shown the necessity of retaining appropriate levels of these two minerals, although for many people, daily diets diabetes provide the amounts needed for good health.
Women with osteoporosis or who have a family history of this disease may wish to talk to their physicians about testing bone density and look into a program of exercise, diet, and supplements. A less important mineral, but one about which much as been written, is zinc.
During the summer, claims were made about the positive effect that zinc lozenges had on colds. Although the zinc did not control fever or sneezing, it did seem to shorten the time people reported suffering from other cold symptoms.
However, many of the people in the study reported nausea and dislike for the taste of the lozenge. The American Diabetes Association suggests that you should know that the lozenges are not “clinically proven” as the package suggests, and that you should not take them for more than a few days because too much zinc can lead to other medical problems.
Antioxidants
Two vitamins to examine are the antioxidants C and E because they are most frequently in the news with claims of their powers to fight diseases, and keep us younger, longer. Of course you can get these antioxidants from vegetables and fruits. Think dark green and orange! Lists of foods high in specific vitamins and minerals are available from your health team and in nutrition books.
You may wish to talk to your physician about studies which indicate the presence of increased oxidation and glycosylation in diabetics, and the concomitant earlier aging of the body. Glucose itself can create free radicals that can damage protein structures in the body. It makes sense then to look to antioxidants for help. There are studies to show that vitamin E has a inverse relationship to angina.
Both vitamins have been researched for their implications in lowering death rates of heart disease and cancer. There is also evidence that antioxidants may have a protective effect in the body. For example, there is a high level of vitamin E in healthy retinas suggesting its importance is protecting the eyes.
It should be noted, however, that the relationship between lowered levels of antioxidants in diabetics along with a higher rate or free radical production and long term effect of the disease has not been proven. Taking vitamins and supplements on your own is frowned upon and can interfere with your care. For example, a recently reported study shows that taking a high dose of vitamin E may lower sensitivity to insulin.
Your Best Bet
Remember, there are no magic pills, and for every miracle cure there are follow-up scientific research projects that must be done. Your best bet is to keep reading and look for scientific results that can be replicated.
Make sure you have a good relationship with you health-care-team so that they become a reliable clearing house for news headlines. Once again, look to how much you spend on supplements and what you really know about how the vitamins and minerals work. Be a wise consumer and do your homework, but never close your mind to new ideas prematurely.
Diabetes Research 