Nutritional supplements for people with diabetes - Zambia Daily Mail

HEALTH CHAT with DR BROWN KAMANGA
FOOD provides an assortment of nutrients that are beneficial to health. Pharmaceutical products such as vitamins and mineral supplements may be beneficial in situations of nutritional deficiencies.
Nutritional deficiencies are not uncommon in regions with soils that are depleted of essential minerals and where food shortages are the order of the day.
Pollution and prolonged use of pesticides and chemical additives deplete essential minerals from soils.
Eating mainly processed foods can also lead to nutritional deficiencies. Vitamins may be lost during prolonged cooking and when food is exposed to certain chemicals or is stored using poor methods.
Tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse, food allergies, indigestion, poor food choices or die ting, chronic diarrhoea can profoundly affect the availability of nutrients to the body in both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.
In individuals with diabetes, chronically high glucose levels cause an excess generation of free radicals that disrupt normal function of the cells leading to cell damage.
A cell is a smallest functioning unit of a living thing. Therefore, individuals with diabetes may benefit from nutritional supplements containing antioxidants (vitamins A, C, and E, and selenium) which eliminate free radicals, preventing cellular damage. The other roles of these vitamins and selenium are:
Vitamin A regulates the immune system, preventing infections. Vitamin C promotes wound healing and resistance to infections, and may prevent the development of cataracts (clouding of the eye lens).
Vitamin E augments the immune system and protects against heart disease as well as cataracts. The trace mineral Selenium helps fight viral infections and regulat es the metabolism (processing) of carbohydrates (sugars and starches). Carbohydrates are now commonly referred to as carbs.
Other important nutritional supplements for individuals with diabetes are vitamins B1, B6, B12 and folic acid, magnesium, chromium, and zinc.
Vitamin B1 (or Thiamine) keeps nerves healthy and is important for blood formation and metabolism of carbohydrates.
Vitamin B6 (or Pyridoxine) helps the nervous and immune system to function well, maintains normal blood glucose levels, prevents clotting of blood, and treats peripheral neuropathy (burning pain, numbness and crawling sensations individuals with diabetes may experience in their feet or hands).
Vitamin B12 (or Cobalamin) improves nerve function and prevents peripheral neuropathy as well. Folic acid helps produce and maintain new cells.
Lack of folic acid leads to anaemia and neuropathy (impaired nerve function).  Magnesium stimulates insulin release from the pancreas and activates insulin.
In addition, magnesium helps muscles, nerves and the heart to function well. Chromium enhances the function of insulin in addition to facilitating fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Zinc helps in fighting infections and in wound healing.
Zinc prevents neuropathy and improves diabetic control.
You likely do not need these and other supplements not included in this article if you are in good health and eat a healthy, varied diet.
brown.kamanga@yahoo.com