A Guide to Natural Remedies for Improved Sugar Metabolism

I had taken ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) before but hadn't really noticed what it had or had not done for me other than - (pardon me for mentioning something a bit indelicate, but this is meant to be helpful so one should be honest) - make my urine smell sulfuric - which it's known to do and which is a good sign of your body working as it should, my research showed. I decided to start taking it again: 600 mg/day. On the second day I noticed I was sleeping through the night without waking up to have something to eat. Also, all of the sugar cravings I was having several times a day were... gone. I didn't attribute these things to the ALA right away but since it was the only thing I had changed, I decided to see if it might have been the change that helped get rid of these annoying cravings and late night eating. Sure enough, it stabilizes blood sugar! In my case it's been an incredible help. I do have a thyroid condition, Hashimoto's, and there's some concern ALA can inhibit T4 to active T3 conversion. But it was only one study which showed this and many other studies show benefits which indirectly support thyroid function such as mitigation of inflammation, safe weight loss, lessened sugar consumption and the like. Dr. Childs has a good article with all of the details and studies if this is of interest. I'm going to see if 300 mg a day will have the same benefits as I've had with 600 mg. I'll report back in a few weeks, below.

Earlier in my life, I have had positive results with energy by taking chromium picolinate. So for at least the last 20 years, mornings I have taken one 200 mcg capsule of chromium picolinate (CP) for my sugar metabolism. I have never been able to increase the daily morning dose past 200 mcg because it would cause me a slight headache. The picolinate form of chromium is the only form that ever gave me noticeable results for energy.

I buy the 200 mcg CP from SwansonVitamins in bottles of 200 capsules.

From the bottle label:

"High-concentration chromium for blood sugar support. Helps maintain healthy insulin levels. WARNING: For adults only. Because chromium may enhance insulin sensitivity and affect glucose levels..."

Back then I decided to make CP a permanent part of my supplements because CP gave me the extra energy, so I have kept taking CP but I don't really notice any positive effect now, although I might notice a lack of energy if I stopped taking CP.

I also take CP so I can eat sugars. I prefer to assume that CP is good for all of my sugar metabolism.

So I basically eat what I want now without worrying about sugar intake because apparently taking CP handles the metabolism of sugar for me.

When I was primarily a beef eater, beef would pull down my blood sugar and cause me sleepiness and hypoglycemia. So I started to emphasize eating fish and I feel better or lighter after eating fish. According to Dr. Shallenberger and his free Health Alert e-letter at SecondOpinionNewsletter.com, fish also contains an abundant protein that dissolves or prevents the formation of brain tangles:

https://www.secondopinionnewsletter.com/Health-Alert-Archive/View-Archive/13954/Eating-Fish-Improves-LongTerm-Brain-Health-.htm

Then I read someone state that beef can cause diabetes and I don't really doubt it. I still eat beef, however.

Back when I was taking RNA tablets derived from nutritional or brewer's yeast, the CP would increase my breath intake, lung volume and exercise ability when taking the two with soy lecithin powder. I never figured out this combo's dynamic, but it was a dramatic increase in my breath, although the effect was elusive. I may have to try taking the RNA tablets again.