Njmuscle

[deheinx]

Hi njmuscle,
I read your post and would be grateful for any help you may be able to give me with regards to bodybuilding nutrition as it relates to diabetes. I too am diabetic, type 2, and am trying to put on some muscle mass while lose weight. I would like to use a lot of the supplements available, but 99% warn you off if you're diabetic. What do you use and what kind of success have you seen from their use (supplement wise).

Thanks,
Dave

 

[njmuscle]

I've asked two supplement companies about the warnings...the answer I got from both was that the supplements haven't been tested on diabetics so they can't be sure about safety. It'd be hard for supplement firms to test safety on different aspects of diabetes (Type 1 vs. Type 2, insulin users vs. other medication users vs. no medication, etc.) A friend of mine was a Type 1 diabetic in his 30s and already starting to develop kidney problems. So the supplement companies - to encourage you to use caution and (I suspect) to avoid getting sued put a blanket warning on almost everything.

If you use any medication (insulin or otherwise), I'd talk to your doctor. I don't use any medication for blood sugar control, so I haven't worried about it too much. I've gotten results from creatine, andro (topical), and tribulus. (I'm 39, so I might get better results from the andro and tribulus than a younger guy.) Never had a blood sugar problem from any of them.

I also use fat burners, both the herbal ECA stuff (Dymetadrine Extreme, MD-6) and Phenyltropic PPA, without any problems. If you have high blood pressure, I'd be careful with these, although I've read conflicting reports on risks of using thermogenics with hypertension. Again, no blood sugar problems. I'm using the Phenyltropic PPA right now and I'm pretty happy with it, although I do occasionallly get a few minutes of what I can only describe as a "prickly heat" feeling on the skin when using it (it fades after a few minutes.) I'm using a low-carb diet right now, and the PPA suppresses my appetite better.

Hope this helps!

 

[njmuscle]

Just wanted to add something: if you aren't using any medications and want to try fat burners, suggest you start with a very small dose, say a half-capsule of Dymetadrine Extreme (normal dose up to 4 for pre-workout), or a half-tablet of Phenyltropic PPA, just to see how you tolerate it. This is probably true for anyone, but especially for diabetics.

If you use any medications, you might have to try two or three doctors before you get an educated opinion - doctors don't tend to know too much about supplements and some have knee-jerk reactions.