Dietary Supplementation During Diabetes Therapy and the Potential Risk of Interactions

Abstract

Background. The classification of dietary supplements as foodstuffs promotes widespread access to them and increases the possibility of patients using them without being monitored. Unreasonable or excessive consumption of these preparations poses risks to type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients (among others) because it may induce disturbances in glycemic control. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of dietary supplementation among patients using anti-diabetic drugs and such patients' nutrient intake in order to evaluate the potential risk of interactions. Material and Methods. The study participants were 150 diabetic patients who were asked about the type of pharmacotherapy and dietary supplementation they used. The intake of minerals, vitamins, dietary fiber and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) from the patients' diets were also assessed, using the 24-h dietary recall method. Results. The highest percentage of patients taking individual anti-diabetic drugs used supplements containing magnesium and herbs. They also often took antioxidant vitamins, B-group vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. In the majority of patients (both those using supplements and those not), the dietary recall showed insufficient intake of potassium, calcium and magnesium, as well as of vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin D and LC-PUFAs. In addition, their diets provided high median amounts of iron, copper, vitamin A and β-carotene. Conclusions. The level of dietary supplementation and the ill-balanced diets reported by the majority of the recruited T2DM patients indicate a high possible risk of interactions with the anti-diabetic drugs. Therefore, patients should always consult their physicians regarding dietary supplementation, and medically trained staff should routinely assess dietary intake to avoid hazardous changes in the activity of drugs (Adv Clin Exp Med 2014, 23, 6, 939-946).

Concealed use of herbal and dietary supplements among Thai patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

“…The primary reason for undisclosed HDS use was unawareness of this concern. Additionally, over 70% of participants exposed to HDS had no awareness of drug-herb interactions [ 44 ]. As HDS use becomes more popular, physicians should consider HDS intake to be equally as important as that of conventional medication.…”

Selenium Supplementation Affects Insulin Resistance and Serum hs-CRP in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease

“…Various nutritional factors such as magnesium, folic acid, vitamins B 12 and B 6 , and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) appear to be significantly beneficial for patients with T2DM and CHD [9,10]. There is scarce information on the beneficial effects of selenium supplementation on metabolic status in patients with T2DM and CHD and the results are inconsistent.…”

The effect of a preparation of minerals, vitamins and trace elements on the cardiac gene expression pattern in male diabetic rats

“…Regular consumption of MVT preparations as medical food for diabetics is common in developed countries. However, preclinical or clinical evaluation of such preparations is surprisingly limited in the literature [ 12 – 16 ]. To the best of our knowledge, none of the investigated and significantly altered genes in this study has been reported to show altered expression, either in healthy or in diabetic hearts in response to MVT-treatment.…”

“…Moreover, MVT preparations appeared on the market as medical food for patients suffering from metabolic diseases including hyperlipidaemia, metabolic syndrome, and DM. However, the literature is limited and controversial on the potential beneficial effects of these complex preparations containing more than 3 components on disease progression [ 12 – 16 ]. We have recently shown that chronic treatment with a MVT preparation improved well-established diagnostic markers of DM such as fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, glucose tolerance, and serum insulin levels in male diabetic rats [ 14 ].…”