Help for a diabetic and supplements

[dapper]

I am wondering since I am a diabetic if Whey, Creatine, or any other supplements are bad for diabetics. Right now I am taking 2 Multi Vitamins a day, one in the morning and one before going to bed. I might start taking the 2nd one a little earlier. I am considering Whey Protein. I would probably mix it with fat free skim milk. I do have to watch my carb intake since they turn to sugar.

[dapper]

Still looking for some advice here if anyone would happen to know. I won't see my doctor till May.

[Flexxer]

I'm not 100% here, but I don't see why they would mess with your diabetes. The only thing you might need to watch out for is your blood sugar getting to low. I don't know if this is a problem or a potential problem with you. The creatine may speed more sugar into your muscles. That combined with lifting weights could potentially drop your blood sugar levels. Bodybuilding.com did a article about bodybuilding with diabetes, you might see if it is still around. Good luck!

[mightymouse37]

Hey Dapper,

I'm also diabetic, and have used creatine, whey, etc. I pretty much stick to protein powders now since I'm broke, but I've never had problems with any supplements. I know my doctors were extremely wary, but they never said no or gave any reasons why I should shy away. The one thing to keep in mind is your kidneys; we're at higher risk for kidney problems and too much creatine and protein (if you take too much) could (theoretically anyway) cause an unhealthy build-up. Creatine really is best to take when you're starting back up from a layoff or a beginner. All it really does is increase your body's efficiency at rebuilding ATP (fuel for muscular contraction) but your body will adapt to do that anyway after a few weeks of lifting. Plus most creatine supps contain high amounts of carbohydrate, which you want to watch out for. My blood sugar actually tends to increase after lifting (there's glucose already in your body, but no insulin to transport it to the muscles, so the body doesn't recognize it and produces its own glucose to try and supply the muscles, but it just builds up). I've heard of supplementing with Alpha Lipoic Acid as well to help regulate blood sugar, but I've never tried it due to monetary issues :( Hope this helps!! My best gains actually came from just eating frequently and getting enough rest, no creatine. Good luck!

[MrBRoc]

yea i myself am also diabetic.. im fine with everything except for creatine i dont know maybe its just me but when i take creatine my sugar levels just go up and stay there i take crazy amounts of insulin to bring it down and once i eat anything bang right back up it just hovers at like 290 to 300 heh ive tried several creatine products also but all monohydrate so im not sure im gonna try out cee tho and see how that goes.. oh and drink LOTS of water just incase like the other guy said we are at higher risk for kidney problems

[king_keyser]

Check out the research on cinnamon, seems to be good stuff for diabetics. Also green coffee anti oxidant(GCA).

[MrBRoc]

Check out the research on cinnamon, seems to be good stuff for diabetics. Also green coffee anti oxidant(GCA).

ok i just did alittle research on what you said and it is true with the cinnamon EXCEPT they are saying mainly its benifical for people with type 2 diabetes they didnt say much about it helping with type 1... altho great information king hopefully it will help some people out here on the forums

[king_keyser]

http://www.appliedfoods.com/pdf/gca_weight_loss.pdf

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=453117

... some info for yuou.

[NovaScotiaMuscl]

Dapper

I'm diabetic and have used creatine on a number of different occasions. I figure that I've put about 30 lbs of muscle due to creatine over the last few years. So yes, it works for diabetics too.

I buy plain creatine (ie creatine with nothing else in it - no sugar, no "transporters", nothing) and I take it with my insulin. The point is that INSULIN (not hight blood sugars) are needed to bring creatine into the muscle cell.

I've started a thread for people with type 1 diabetes. No one has posted anything there yet - but the thread is:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=485093

I hope that this can become a place were all diabetics can ask questions and share answers and tips.

[Pandora]

I also have diabetes, but am type II. I control it with diet and exercise alone (used to take Actos, but it was awful stuff). Anyway, I'm not sure what teh difference would be in supp recs for a type I vs type II, but I have been ok'd my doc for any supps except fat burners etc. I use creatine, whey, aminos etc w. no issues. I just take plain creatine with no additive or sometimes creatine w. added aminos and taurine that has 5g sugars.

My blood sugars have never gone above 290 as long as I have checked them and average in the 120-130 range fasting with diet and exercise... so like I said, I am not sure if the recs would be the same. I took insulin shots when I was pregnant, but of course, I was not taking supps then.

I'm also hypothyroid, which is why my docs probably warns against fat burners. No need to screw with the metabolism more. But I cannot imagine that they'd be good for diabetics anyway. I sticks with the basics.

[evilbyte]

"Glucobetic" is a good supplement, you have a nice intake of chromium in there as well as other elements, which will help regulate your blood sugar levels.

Cinnamon is also very good for you.

And you'd never believe it but yams (Sweet potatoes) are extremely good for diabetics. Cook a few, mash them up, add a little cinnamon in there and some sugar twin brown sugar, you'll love it and it's great for you