|

Author:
Don Ford, M.D.

About 17 million American’s have diabetes and approximately one third of them don’t even know it. Diabetes is a disease that is a result of your body’s inability to utilize glucose efficiently or possibly not able to utilize it at all. The results of leaving your diabetes untreated can be devastating. Blindness, heart attacks, strokes, amputations are all possible consequences of diabetes and especially leaving it untreated. One of the most popular medications for the treatment of patients with diabetes is Glucophage (Metformin). This medication also now comes in combination with other products such as sulfonylureas (Glucovance, Metaglip) and the glitazones (Avandamet, Actos plus Met).

Metformin has been used for many years around the world and is a very effective medication for diabetes. Some of the more common side effects include nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. These symptoms generally occur in one out of three patients. But one of the lesser known and yet very important side effects of Metformin is how it depletes some of your essential nutrients and increases your odds of having side effects due to nutrient depletion. The nutrients of most concern are Vitamin B-12, folic acid, and Coenzyme Q-10.

If you happen to be taking one of the products that has Metformin as well as a sulfonylurea included (Glucovance, Metaglip), you should increase your risk of reducing your coenzyme Q-10 levels even further, because the sulfonylurea class of drugs is known to interfere with the metabolism of Coenzyme Q-10.

To learn more about what symptoms you may experience as a result of defeciencies in folic acid, Vitamin B-12 and Coenzyme Q-10 please go to: http://www.essential-nutrients.net/vitamins_minerals.htm

You can have your physician monitor your essential nutrient status or you can simply take a supplement that can replenish your body’s supply of these nutrients. To learn more about your options please go to: http://www.essential-nutrients.net/diabetesessentialnutrients.htm

To learn more about diabetes and the importance of controlling your blood sugar please go to: http://www.essential-nutrients.net/diabetes.htm

Dr. Ford has practiced general internal medicine for the past 22 years. He is a native Texan and trained at Baylor University, the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and Scott and White in Temple. He is a Clinical Assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine. In addition to general Internal Medicine, his practice includes travel medicine, vascular disease prevention, and Integrative Medicine with nutrients.

| Article Keywords: Nutrients

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Nutrients... What Is a Good Source of Vitamin A? Did you know that vitamin A is one of the less well-known vitamins even though it's actually a very important mineral to our overall health and fitness? Everyone seems to know about the benefits of vitamin C, especially in regards to cold and flu prevention and most people know of the benefits of vitamin E and that it can be very good for your hair, skin and eyes. But when you ask what is a good source of vitamin A and what is it used for you tend to get a blank look in reply. But despite this vitamin A is actually a very important vitamin to have and consume in our daily dietary needs in the right quantities. Many consumers and health minded individuals who can answer the question what is a good source of vitamin A will often refer to carrots as being one of the best. Of course, most people have heard the old saying about carrots giving you good eyesight and night vision. It's one of those things that you heard from your grandmother that if you ate more carrots you would be able to see better in the dark. Actually, as with many old sayings, there is an element of truth in it because carrots do contain good levels of carotene and as a result high levels of vitamin A. This is also true of other foods such as sweet potatoes and tomatoes. If your doctor has told you that you need to increase your daily intake levels of vitamin A. and you would like to know what is a good source of vitamin A in your daily diet then probably the best way is to increase your consumption of these foods. Of course, you can also take a supplement however if you're considering doing this then it is probably a good idea to get your doctor to recommend one to you so that you take the right amount for your condition. Unless your doctor advises you to take them supplements may not be the...