Alternative Therapies for Diabetes

Therapy	Best Evidence *	Probably Useful †	Least Evidence ‡
Herbals		Artemesia herba alba; bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) (retinopathy): 80–160 mg t.i.d.; bitter melon (Momordica charantia): 30–60 ml of juice/day; coccinia indica; gymnema sylvestre: 200 mg b.i.d.; ginkgo biloba (retinopathy, neuropathy, and vascular complications): 40 mg t.i.d.; garlic; green tea (Camellia sinensis) 2C/day; Trigonella foenum-graecum.	Artichoke; dandelion leaves; eleutherococcus; fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum): 50 g/day defatted seed powder; ginseng 100 mg t.i.d.; glucomannan; guar gum; horehound; juniper; lavender; myrrh; neem; primrose oil (neuropathy); salt bush (Atriplex halimu); silymarin (cirrhosis in diabetes); Spanish needles (Bidens pilosa); tragacanth; yellow bells (Tecoma stans)
Diet and Nutrition/Lifestyle	Regular exercise; weight loss; diet high in fiber, low in simple sugars and fats; Pritikin diet; Ornish diet.	Alpha-lipoic acid; biotin (type 1 and type 2 DM): 9–16 mg/day; chromium (200 µg/day); essential fatty acids (cold-water fish, 480 mg/day; gamma linoleic acid, 1 T/day flaxseed oil); magnesium (300–500 mg/day); onion; potassium (dietary); vitamin C (>2 g/day in divided dosess); vitamin B 3 (prevention of new-onset type 1: 25 mg/kg/day); inositol hexaniacinate (hyperlipidemia): 500–1000 mg/day; vitamin B 6 (neuropathy): 50–100 mg/day; vitamin B 12 (neuropathy): 1000–3000 µg /day p.o. or 1000 µg/wk IM; vitamin E (800–900 IU/day); zinc (30 mg/day).	Flavonoids (dietary, 1–2/day); manganese (30 mg/day).
Mind-Body Interventions	Self-care, personal locus of control and responsibility.	Biofeedback; reduction of threat of DM (adolescents); relaxation therapy; social support; spiritual approaches; yoga.	Treatment of depression; qi gong.
Bioelectromagnetic Therapies			Electrical stimulation.
Alternative Systems of Care		Acupuncture (neuropathy); traditional Chinese medicine.	Ayurveda; curanderismo herbalism.
Hands-On Healing Techniques			Massage.

^*Therapies with the highest degree of scientific support for efficacy and safety.
^†Therapies that are often helpful but that do not have the highest degree of supporting evidence for efficacy and safety.
^‡Therapies that may be useful but that have limited scientific evidence for efficacy and safety.
SOURCE: Sierpina, VS: Integrative Health Care: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for the Whole Person, F.A. Davis, Philadelphia, 2000.