Self Help
You should always have with you, and ideally wear a medical identification bracelet or tag to alert health care professionals to the presence of diabetes. This information allows health care professionals to start life-saving treatment quickly, especially in the case of injury or altered mental status. The Medic Alert Foundation in our Health Information we Trust list provides an economical, effective and well-recognised way to do this.
Supplements, Snake-oils and Diets
On the Take Control of Your Diabetes website Dr. Edelman posted an article titled “False Promises and Marketing Scams – Herbal Remedies and Vitamins”. It pretty much says what needs to be said.
A digest of his message is that: he has an open mind about any product that has been proven to help people with diabetes live healthier lives, but… he is concerned about an unregulated herbal and vitamin industry taking advantage of people with problems like diabetes.
The Wall Street Journal’s report “The Case Against Vitamins” cited numerous studies showing that common supplements offered for diabetes, such as vitamins E, C, B, A and beta carotene, could have no purpose or even harmful affects in some. He says he’s not suggesting we all stop taking vitamins. He’s reminding people with diabetes about some of the blatant scams that over the counter supplement manufacturers have used, and encouraging you to look critically at the claims about these products before taking them.
Dr Edelman refers to many outrageous, unsubstantiated and unproven claims, including actors pretending to be people who have benefited from these products. He refers to Pancreas Tonic, a product that was supposed to rejuvenate the insulin producing cells of the body and allow you to get off of insulin injections; Cortislim pretends to create beautiful men and women who lost tons of weight without even watching what they eat; Viagro (playing on Viagra?) is a silly supplement with an “unconditional money back guarantee”.
Dr Edelman reminds us that there are thousands of examples of quack remedies like these because, quite simply, it is all about money and greed.
We comment that any product claiming to work wonders should be checked carefully. If it says it can do something the experts haven’t offered you, find out more before wasting your money or endangering your health. Medline Plus in our Look Here First list will give you unbiased information on what it is and what it does – or simply ring the Diabetes UK Care line in out Health Information we Trust list and ask.
