Blood Glucose

Human Effect Matrix

The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (excluding animal/petri-dish studies) to tell you what what supplements affect Blood Glucose

Grade	Level of Evidence
A	Robust research conducted with repeated double blind clinical trials
B	Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
C	Single double blind study or multiple cohort studies
D	Uncontrolled or observational studies only

Level of Evidence	Supplement	Magnitude of Effect Size	Scientific Consensus	Comments
A	Panax Ginseng	Minor	50% See all 10 studies	A decrease in fasting blood glucose has been noted over time with standard supplemental doses of panax ginseng in diabetics, with this dose being ineffective in altering... show the blood glucose of non-diabetics; high (20g) doses may acutely reduce blood glucose in healthy persons
A	Fish Oil		71% See all 21 studies	No significant alterations in fasting glucose are seen over time with fish oil supplementation
B	L-Carnitine	Minor	100% See all 3 studies	A decrease in blood glucose has been noted with carnitine supplementation
B	Dehydroepiandrosterone		66% See all 3 studies	Most evidence suggests no alterations to fasting blood glucose levels
B	Conjugated Linoleic Acid		83% See all 9 studies	Insufficient evidence to support reliable increases in blood glucose
B	Berberine	Strong	100% See 2 studies	The usage of berberine in reducing blood glucose, according to the most recent meta-analysis, is comparable to the oral hypoglycemic drugs Metformin or Glibenclamide; this... show suggests berberine is one of the more effective supplements for blood glucose reductions.
B	Psyllium	Minor	100% See all 3 studies	Reductions in blood glucose seen with psyllium seem to occur reliably in persons with high blood glucose, but are transient benefits and not of a remarkable magnitude.
B	Caffeine	Minor	66% See all 3 studies	There may be an acute increase in blood glucose when caffeine is paired with a carbohydrate containing meal, but long term ingestion of caffeine does not appear to adversely... show influence glucose (only acutely)
B	Stevia	Minor	40% See all 5 studies	There may be a very small glucose reducing effect of stevia consumption, but it does not appear to apply to everybody and is unreliable. Requires more evidence.
B	Magnesium	Minor	42% See all 8 studies	There appears to be some reduction in blood glucose in diabetics and persons with elevated glucose with magnesium supplementation, which may be secondary to better insulin... show functioning from the pancreas. The reduction in glucose is not overly impressive and is somewhat unreliable, and increases in glucose have been noted to occur during exercise when magnesium is supplemented in healthy persons
B	Salacia Reticulata	Notable	100% See all 3 studies	The decrease in blood glucose is acute due to blocking carbohydrate absorption (no studies on long-term glucose influence) and standard supplemental doses range between... show 20-25% inhibition of carbohydrate absorption, with is quite reliable and significant. This has been noted in both diabetics as well as lean/healthy persons.
B	Citrulline		100% See all 3 studies	There do not appear to be any significant influences of supplemental citrulline on blood glucose concentrations
C	Fenugreek	Minor	100% See all 3 studies	Appears to result in a decrease of blood glucose following ingestion of fenugreek
C	ECA		100% See study	No significant alterations in blood glucose noted with ECA supplementation
C	Chlorogenic Acid	Minor	100% See study	Not overly remarkable reductions in blood glucose
C	Glutamine	Minor	100% See 2 studies	An increase in blood glucose may occur from direct conversion of glutamine into glucose following oral ingestion
C	Coenzyme Q10		100% See 2 studies	Insufficient evidence to support changes in blood glucose with CoQ10 supplementation
C	Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid		100% See study	No significant influence on fasting glucose levels
C	Black Cohosh		100% See study	No significant influence on blood glucose levels
C	Whey Protein		100% See all 5 studies	No significant influence on fasted blood glucose levels, may decrease postprandial glucose levels (relative to no protein ingestion) due to the release of insulin
C	Alpha-Lipoic Acid	Ineffective	100% See study	A small decrease in blood glucose is noted with oral supplementation of ALA, related to the glucose disposal properties
C	Spirulina	Minor	50% See all 3 studies	Reductions in blood glucose seen are not overly remarkable or noteworthy
C	Nicotine		100% See study	No significant influence on fasting glucose levels
C	Gynostemma Pentaphyllum	Notable	100% See 2 studies	Decrease in blood glucose in diabetics given gynostemma tea or root appears to be greater than other supplements; currently no studies in otherwise healthy persons.
C	Green Coffee Extract		100% See study	No significant influence noted on fasting glucose levels (may reduce postprandial slightly)
C	7-Keto DHEA		100% See study	Insufficient evidence to support changes in blood glucose
C	Artichoke Extract		100% See 2 studies	There is still a possibility that artichoke extract is able to aid the blood glucose of diabetics, but currently the best evidence does not support this conclusion
C	Bladderwrack	Minor	100% See study	Appears somewhat potent at acutely reducing blood glucose following a meal (possibly by inhibiting absorption) but no long term studies.
C	Olive leaf extract	Minor	50% See 2 studies	There appears to be significant interactions with olive leaf and diabetes, and research is too preliminary to come to conclusions. Olive leaf may reduce blood glucose in... show diabetics only
C	Eleutherococcus senticosus	Minor	100% See study	A decrease in glucose consumption during exercise (without affecting metabolic rate and due to an increase in fat oxidation) has once caused an acute lowering of glucose.... show The magnitude is quite minor, and there is no evidence to assess the effects of eleuthero on fasting blood glucose or in diabetes management
C	Resveratrol	Minor	100% See study	A decrease in blood glucose has been noted, practical significance unknown
C	Ecklonia Cava	Minor	100% See study	May reduce blood glucose levels, not overly potent in doing so
C	Salvia hispanica	Minor	50% See all 3 studies	Has been implicated in reducing postprandial glucose while having no significant influence on fasting glucose levels.
C	Green Tea Catechins	Minor	100% See study	A decrease in fasting blood glucose is noted with green tea catechin ingestion
C	Hibiscus Sabdariffa		100% See 2 studies	No significant alterations in blood glucose noted
C	Japanese Knotweed		100% See study	Blood glucose appears to be unaffected following ingestion of Japanese knotweed in otherwise healthy lean persons
C	Irvingia Gabonensis	Minor	100% See study	May reduce fasting blood glucose following prolonged supplementation; confounded with both weight loss (seen in trials) and industry influence
C	Melatonin		100% See study	No significant influence on blood glucose levels
C	Royal Jelly	Minor	100% See 2 studies	May slightly reduce blood glucose in otherwise healthy older persons, but not to a remarkable degree
C	Capsaicin	Minor	100% See study	A possible reduction in blood glucose may occur secondary to pancreatic stimulation with high doses of capsaicin
C	Vitamin D		100% See study	No significant influence on fasting blood glucose levels
C	Krill Oil		100% See study	No significant influence on blood glucose levels
C	Branched Chain Amino Acids		50% See 2 studies	There does not appear to be a likely alteration in blood glucose concentrations per se with BCAA supplementation, but the increased fat oxidation may attenuate... show the decline in glucose seen during prolonged exercise (which would appear to be a relative increase at later time points)
C	Lactobacillus casei		0% See study
C	Sodium Bicarbonate		100% See 2 studies	No significant effect on blood glucose concentrations at rest or during exercise is seen with sodium bicarbonate supplementation
C	Arginine		0% See 2 studies
D	Curcumin		100% See study	No significant influence on blood glucose
D	Holy Basil	Minor	100% See study	May reduce blood glucose, with the potency demonstrated (fairly good) limited by the quality of the evidence currently
D	Ginger		100% See study	No significant alterations in blood glucose seen with ginger ingestion
D	Coconut Oil		100% See study	Insufficient evidence to support alterations in blood glucose.
D	Aronia Melanocarpa	Minor	100% See study	Requires more studies before conclusions can be made, appears to simply be exerting anti-oxidant effects.
D	Banaba Leaf	Notable	100% See study	The reduction in blood glucose appeared to range from 20-30%, which is more than usually seen with dietary supplements.
D	Ashwagandha	Minor	100% See study	A decrease in blood glucose has been noted with ashwagandha.
D	Yerba Mate	Minor	100% See study	A slight decrease in blood glucose has been noted with Mate consumption in type II diabetics; no evidence in otherwise healthy persons
D	Sulbutiamine		100% See study	No significant influence on blood glucose in diabetics detected
D	HMB	Minor	100% See study	A lone study that is underpowered suggest a decrease in blood glucose (measured by chance during a blood panel); not enough robust evidence supports a reduction in blood... show glucose but it cannot be ruled out
D	Vanadium	Minor	100% See study	A decrease in blood glucose has been noted in type II diabetics which is thought to be secondary to reducing hepatic synthesis of glucose
D	Safflower Oil		100% See study	No significant influence on blood glucose in diabetics

References

Wax B, et al. Acute L-arginine alpha ketoglutarate supplementation fails to improve muscular performance in resistance trained and untrained men. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. (2012)
Collier SR, Casey DP, Kanaley JA. Growth hormone responses to varying doses of oral arginine. Growth Horm IGF Res. (2005)
Bode-Böger SM, et al. L-arginine-induced vasodilation in healthy humans: pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship. Br J Clin Pharmacol. (1998)
Marcell TJ, et al. Oral arginine does not stimulate basal or augment exercise-induced GH secretion in either young or old adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. (1999)
Isidori A, Lo Monaco A, Cappa M. A study of growth hormone release in man after oral administration of amino acids. Curr Med Res Opin. (1981)
Wilson AM, et al. L-arginine supplementation in peripheral arterial disease: no benefit and possible harm. Circulation. (2007)
Böger RH, et al. Restoring vascular nitric oxide formation by L-arginine improves the symptoms of intermittent claudication in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. (1998)
Liu TH, et al. No effect of short-term arginine supplementation on nitric oxide production, metabolism and performance in intermittent exercise in athletes. J Nutr Biochem. (2009)
Abel T, et al. Influence of chronic supplementation of arginine aspartate in endurance athletes on performance and substrate metabolism - a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Int J Sports Med. (2005)
Fahs CA, Heffernan KS, Fernhall B. Hemodynamic and vascular response to resistance exercise with L-arginine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. (2009)
Lucotti P, et al. Beneficial effects of a long-term oral L-arginine treatment added to a hypocaloric diet and exercise training program in obese, insulin-resistant type 2 diabetic patients. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. (2006)
Jabłecka A, et al. The effect of oral L-arginine supplementation on fasting glucose, HbA1c, nitric oxide and total antioxidant status in diabetic patients with atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease of lower extremities. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. (2012)
Monti LD, et al. Effect of a long-term oral l-arginine supplementation on glucose metabolism: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Diabetes Obes Metab. (2012)

(Users who contributed to this page include Sol, Efrum, KurtisFrank)

Table of Contents

Human Effect Matrix

Scientific Support & Reference Citations

References

Quick Summary: