It is estimated that nearly 60 million Americans have blood sugar control issues, with 18.2 million people having diabetes and another 41 million with pre-diabetes. A common belief, as with most health conditions, is that we bring this on with our lifestyle choices. Whether you have issues with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), the combination of proper diet, regular exercise or activity, and supplementation can help control blood sugar and contribute to optimal health.


Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the main source of energy for the body. Glucose is also known as blood sugar. Many people with diabetes have blood sugar swings throughout the day, at mealtime, when exercising, and even overnight. Having too much or too little blood sugar can lead to serious health problems, so controlling these swings is an important goal in diabetes management.

LifeSource Vitamins Blood Sugar Control formula is designed to help balance and maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the body. It contains chromium and Fenugreek to improve glucose tolerance and balances blood-sugar levels; as well as Gymnema Sylvestre to improve insulin production in the pancreas, (as well as insulin's ability to lower blood sugar levels).

LifeSource Vitamins Blood Sugar Control formula also utilizes Bitter Melon extract. The gourd-like fruit has a long history as a treatment for diabetes. Bitter melon improves the body's ability to use blood sugar and improves glucose tolerances.*

Another ingredient in this formula is Vanadium, which has been shown to mimic the actions of insulin, therefore improving glucose tolerance by restoring receptor sensitivity to insulin.

Your body maintains a relatively small amount of blood sugar in your circulation on a fasting basis (about one teaspoon per five quarts of blood). Following a meal your blood sugar levels naturally rise, like sugar, which is fuel for energy, is distributed around your body. This activity requires the proper function of the hormones insulin and leptin. Once the refueling operation is complete, then blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and leptin levels return to a pre-meal baseline.

In order to maintain normal blood sugar levels between meals and during the night, your pancreas makes a different hormone called glucagon that assists your liver to make and metabolize blood sugar, while simultaneously burning fat.

It is vital maintaining the healthy function of this blood sugar metabolism system in good working order a cornerstone of health. The foundation of this system requires a good diet and consistent exercise. Additionally, as desired, nutrients can be used to assist the healthy metabolism of blood sugar and the operation of insulin and leptin. This is where LifeSource Vitamins Blood Sugar Supports comes in.

See All LifeSource Vitamins Blood Sugar Products, Articles, and Studies: Click Here

Diabetes*

When you have diabetes, you may have high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) or low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) from time to time. A cold, the flu, or other sudden illness can cause high blood sugar levels. You will learn to recognize the symptoms and distinguish between high and low blood sugar levels. Insulin and some types of diabetes medications can cause low blood sugar levels.

It is important to learn how to recognize and manage high and low blood sugar levels to help avoid levels that can lead to medical emergencies, such as diabetic ketoacidosis or dehydration from high blood sugar levels or loss of consciousness from severe low blood sugar levels. Most high or low blood sugar problems can be managed at home by following your health professional's instructions.

Following your health professional's instructions on the use of insulin or diabetes medicines, diet, and exercise will help you avoid blood sugar problems. Home blood sugar testing will help you determine whether your blood sugar is within a safe range. If you have had very low blood sugar, you may be tempted to let your sugar level run high so you do not have another low blood sugar problem. However, it is most important that you keep your blood sugar in a safe range. You can do this by following your treatment plan and checking your blood sugar regularly.

Children with diabetes need their parents' help to keep their blood sugar levels in a safe range and to exercise safely. It is important for children to learn the symptoms of both high and low blood sugar so they can tell others when they need help. There are many support groups and diabetes education centers to help parents and children understand about blood sugar, exercise, diet, and medicines.

Teens especially may have a hard time keeping their blood sugar levels in control because their bodies are growing and developing. Also, they want to be with their friends and eat foods that may affect their blood sugar. Having diabetes during their teenage years is not easy. However, your teen is at an excellent age to understand the disease and its treatment and to take over some of the responsibilities of his or her care.

If your blood sugar level reads too high or too low but you are feeling well, you may want to recheck your sugar level or recalibrate your blood glucose meter. The problem may be with either your blood sample or the machine.

High blood sugar (hyperglycemia)*

High blood sugar occurs when the sugar (glucose) level in your blood rises above normal. Eating too many calories, missing medicines (insulin or pills), or having an infection or illness, injury, surgery, or emotional stress can cause your blood sugar to rise. High blood sugar usually develops slowly over a period of hours to days. However, missing a dose of insulin can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels just above the safe range may make you feel tired and thirsty. If your blood sugar level stays higher than normal for weeks, your body will adjust to that level, and you may not have as many symptoms of high blood sugar.

Unless you don't monitor your blood sugar regularly or you don't notice the symptoms of high blood sugar, you usually will have time to treat high blood sugar so that you can prevent high blood sugar emergencies. Three things can help you prevent high blood sugar problems:

Test your blood sugar often, especially if you are sick or are not following your normal routine. You can see when your blood sugar is above the safe range, even if you don't have symptoms of high blood sugar such as increased thirst, increased urination, and fatigue. Then you can treat it early, preventing an emergency.

Notify your health professional if you have frequent high blood sugar levels or if your blood sugar level is consistently staying above the safe range. Your medicine may need to be adjusted or changed.

Drink extra water or non-caffeinated, non-sugared drinks so you will not be dehydrated. If your blood sugar continues to rise, your kidneys will increase the amount of urine produced, and you can become dehydrated.

Complications of high blood sugar can cause serious problems, including coma and death. Over time, high blood sugar can damage your eyes, heart, kidneys, blood vessels, and nerves.

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)*

Low blood sugar occurs when the sugar (glucose) level in your blood drops below what your body needs. Not eating enough food or skipping meals, take too much medicine (insulin or pills), exercising more than usual, or taking certain medicines that lower blood sugar can cause your blood sugar to drop rapidly.

People who lose weight or develop kidney problems may not need as much insulin or other medicines as they did before they lost weight or developed kidney problems. Their blood sugar may drop too low. It is important to check your blood sugar often when your body goes through changes.

When your blood sugar level drops below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), you will usually have symptoms of low blood sugar. This can develop quickly, in 10 to 15 minutes.

If your blood sugar level drops just slightly below a safe range (mild low blood sugar), you may feel tired, anxious, weak, shaky, or sweaty, and you may have a rapid heart rate. If you eat something that contains sugar, these symptoms may last only a short time. If you have had diabetes for many years, you may not always notice symptoms of mild low blood sugar; this is called hypoglycemia unawareness. If your blood sugar is well-controlled and does not change much during the day, you may have an increased risk for hypoglycemia unawareness.

If your blood sugar level continues to drop (usually below 40 mg/dL), your behavior may change, and you may feel more irritable. You may become too weak or confused to eat something with sugar to raise your blood sugar level. Anytime your blood sugar drops below 50 mg/dL, you should act whether you have symptoms or not.

If your blood sugar level drops very low (usually below 20 mg/dL), you may lose consciousness or have a seizure. If you have symptoms of severe low blood sugar, you need medical care immediately.

You may have symptoms of low blood sugar if your blood sugar drops from a high level to a lower level. For example, if your blood sugar level has been higher than 300 mg/dL for a week or so and the level drops suddenly to 100 mg/dL, you may have symptoms of low blood sugar even though your blood sugar is in the normal range. However, if you have had diabetes for many years, you may not have symptoms of low blood sugar until your blood sugar level is very low.

If your health professional thinks you have low blood sugar levels but you are not having symptoms, he or she may ask you to check your blood sugar more often. Your health professional may ask you to check your blood sugar in the middle of the night or to use a 3-day continuous glucose monitor test.

Review the Emergencies and Check Your Symptoms sections to determine if and when you need to see a health professional. (1)

Maintaining adequate blood sugar control, or glycemic control, is much like keeping enough gas in your car so that it will run. If your car runs out of fuel, it will stall. Similarly, if your body does not have an adequate level of blood sugar (the fuel that the body gets from food), you too will stall. Classic symptoms of a low blood sugar level are headaches, brain fog, sweet cravings, nervousness, inability to think clearly, and even depression in some situations.

For some people, the problem goes unnoticed because there are no obvious symptoms. To ensure that you have an adequate blood sugar level, you must eat the proper foods. Eating the right food fuels the body by providing adequate blood sugar. If your blood sugar level is low, your body will go into a predominantly catabolic state, breaking down muscle, organ, and bone tissue in order to keep the body going. At the same time, your immune system may become compromised.

Clinically speaking, blood sugar control occurs when insulin and glucagon (two hormones) are in balance. The pancreas produces both of these hormones in response to the foods you eat.

Things that may affect Hyperglycemia:

A number of factors can contribute to the development of hyperglycemia. As we age, almost everyone becomes insulin resistant. Lack of exercise is another factor contributing to insulin resistance, as is a diet high in sugary, processed foods. Even exposure to certain pesticides is related to an increase in insulin resistance and this association becomes even stronger in overweight individuals. (2)

Inadequate sleep also can contribute to unhealthy blood sugar levels as studies have linked low levels of the hormone melatonin to hyperglycemia and weight gain. (3) Therefore, in addition to undertaking the blood sugar-supporting supplement regimen I outline below, I also suggest that individuals supplement with melatonin and remain asleep in a dark room between midnight and 4 a.m. to enhance the body's natural melatonin production.

Finally, stress remains as damaging to healthy blood sugar levels as is a poor diet. Recent data from animal studies and large epidemiological studies in humans provide a strong linkage between psychological stress and diabetes.