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Vitamins & Diabetes

Vitamins C and E are antioxidants, compounds that prevent damaging effects to the body by "oxygen free radicals." These unstable molecules are a natural byproduct of the body's normal metabolic process where it burns glucose to provide energy to cells. Diabetics have elevated sugar levels, therefore, more free radicals are generated. Anderson, the author of Dr. Anderson's Antioxidant, Anti-Aging Health Program, says, "There is mounting evidence that antioxidant vitamins have anti-inflammatory [as well as] antioxidant properties. I believe that in the next five years, vitamin E supplementation will become the standard of care for diabetes. We're making progress, but we're not there yet." Still, Anderson's extensive research with vitamin E has led him to believe that the benefits of taking antioxidants is so favourable, that all adults should take 800 IU of vitamin E as a preventive measure, which is far above the Recommended Daily Allowance of 10 mg for adults. The maximum amount that can be taken safely is not known, but most experts agree that up to 1,200 IU a day is safe. John Cunningham, PhD, professor of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been instrumental in establishing an important role for vitamin C in reducing the complications of diabetes. "Many diabetic patients have low levels of vitamin C in the cells and could benefit from getting more vitamin C," he says. While it's unclear whether high doses of the vitamin will be effective, 100 mg of vitamin C or a diet rich in vitamin C-containing foods might be adequate, he says. Vitamins attained through diet are extraordinarily important for the diabetic patient, according to Anderson. "Most evidence suggests a higher fiber diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and lower fat." Natural foods rich in vitamin E include almonds, peanut butter, margarine, wheat germ, sunflower oil, kiwi, broccoli, and eggs. Vitamin C-rich foods include papaya, orange juice, strawberries, cantaloupe, green peppers, broccoli, and tomatoes. "The more we examine the components of a healthy diet, the closer we get to being able to make better individual recommendations about one's ideal food intake pattern," nutritionist Maggie Powers, MS, RD, CDE, tells WebMD. "This new information will encourage me as a dietitian to have open discussions about nutritional supplements with persons with diabetes." Powers is co-author of Forbidden Foods Diabetic Cooking. "Even if research is inconclusive or raises more questions," Powers says, it contributes to the discussion and advances our ability to decipher recommendations and provide improved patient care.Vitamins E and C are important vitamins and may have even more to contribute than once thought. Yet, research suggesting that either vitamin promotes improved blood flow or improved blood glucose levels is too inconclusive to suggest a broad recommendation to supplement all diets of people with diabetes. By Jane Schwanke WebMD Medical News /Reviewed by Dr. Dominique S. Walton Nov. 15, 2000

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