How Natural Blood Sugar Treatments Compare To Prescription Drugs

Kevin Trudeau is a hero among many Type 2 diabetics. A highly controversial infomercial spokesperson, his gospel of "Natural Cures' has hit home with a lot of diabetes sufferers.

His message of seeking out natural as opposed to synthetic or processed foods and remedies was inadvertently given added weight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Over the last two years, the Food and Drug Administration has 'black labeled' two of the most popular blood sugar control prescription drugs, Avandia and Actos.

Both of those multi-billion dollar remedies were found to cause increased heart attack risks among Type 2 diabetics.

The third drug, Metformin, while found to be effective at blood sugar control without causing heart issues, has its own set of side effects.

These include an increased risk of rapid weight gain - something that undermines the blood sugar control benefit of this drug.

So many diabetics have bought Kevin Trudeau's Natural Cures series, and a whole host of lesser known books, seeking out a less dangerous solution than that offered up by the pharmaceutical industry.

Here's a comparison of Metformin, the popular prescribed blood sugar control drug and a natural or herbally-based treatment that will help diabetics evaluate the positive and negative qualities of both treatments.

The natural product used for this comparison has two primary active ingredients: niacin-bound chromium and an extract called garcinia cambogia (the rind of a pumpkin-like fruit found primarily in India).

Tested For Blood Sugar Control Effectiveness

It's federally required that prescribed drugs be clinically-tested for efficacy.

It's not required to have this same level of scrutiny be applied to natural or botanical remedy.

Metformin has passed double blind placebo testing in clinical tests.

The two active ingredients in this natural remedy have also been subjected to double blind placebo testing. Both test results showed that the pharmaceutical and natural remdies helped lower blood sugar levels.

Tested For Safety

Both of these products were tested, through independent sources and found to be safe for short and long term usage.

The pharmaceutical ingredients were non-toxic, but found to have side effects, including the increased risk of lactic acidosis and rapid weight gain.

The natural ingredients tested out as having no known side effects.

Tested For Weight Loss and Cholesterol-Lowering Benefits

Both products were tested for their impact on weight loss and cholesterol-lowering properties.

The pharmaceutical product was found to lower cholesterol but provided an increased risk of weight gain - potentially rapid.

The natural product was found to help lower weight and cholesterol levels.

Daily Cost

Based on average prices paid, Metformin costs a diabetic approximately $2-$4 dollars a day, based on an 850 mg dose. The natural remedy costs Type 2 sufferers about $1.50 per day.

This comparison results can very, based on the ingredients, dosage and individual response. But the purpose of this article is to highlight some of the factors diabetics should consider before switching for a prescription to natural, over-the-counter remedy.

In all cases, if you choose to go this route, it's strongly urged that you seek advice from your physician before taking any product. And become your doctor's worst nightmare, an Internet smart patient, with questions.