Most people diagnosed with high blood sugar, insulin resistance or diabetes have it for years before knowing. The damage occurring throughout the body as blood sugar slowly rises is not always obvious. Many people understand the short-term effects of unbalanced blood sugar such as hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia or life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis. But even if you feel fine, uncontrolled blood sugar can cause serious long-term damage to the heart, kidneys, eyes and nervous system
The Syndrome X Factor
Blood sugar management is no longer a struggle reserved for those with diabetes. In fact, insulin resistance — the root cause of metabolic syndrome — increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
An estimated 20-30 percent of adults in industrialized countries have metabolic syndrome — also known as insulin resistance or syndrome X. And it becomes more common with age — afflicting approximately 40 percent of people in their 60s and 70s. The diagnosis is made when one has three or more of the following symptoms:
- waistline greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women
- high blood pressure or taking blood pressure medication
- high triglycerides
- high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes
- low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol
Excess weight — particularly around the belly — is the biggest contributor to metabolic syndrome. You can prevent or reverse metabolic syndrome with lifestyle changes including losing five to ten percent of your body weight, exercising 30 minutes or more per day and changing your diet. Reliv’s cutting-edge blood sugar management product — GlucAffect® — can also help. GlucAffect is clinically proven to help manage blood sugar and reduce weight.
Science Unlocks Nature’s Potential
Recent research has uncovered the blood-sugar-balancing potential within many natural sources. These scientific advances have made it possible to develop nutritional solutions to blood sugar management and weight loss.
Pycnogenol®. This French maritime pine bark is a powerful antioxidant. A clinical study showed that Pycnogenol slowed absorption of carbohydrates, resulting in lower blood sugar.
Cinnamon. Although this spice has been used in cooking for centuries, its blood sugar balancing benefits have only recently been discovered. A clinical study published in Diabetes Care, the journal of the American Diabetes Association, showed cinnamon to reduce serum glucose, triglycerides and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes.
Eugenia Jambolana Lam. Madeglucyl® is a botanical derived from the seeds of the jambul plant. Clinical data showed Madeglucyl to lower blood glucose by 20 percent in healthy subjects and 49 percent in those with type 2 diabetes.
Omega-3s. The omega-3 fatty acids in sh oil have been found to help improve triglyceride levels. High triglycerides are associated with unmanaged diabetes. According to the National Institutes of Health’s Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, fish oil may reduce triglyceride levels by 20 to 50 percent.
Each of these clinically-studied ingredients are found in GlucAffect.
GlucAffect: A Clinically Proven Solution
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. It also marks the ten-year anniversary of Reliv’s revolutionary blood sugar management solution: GlucAffect.
Since 2008, thousands of people have discovered GlucAffect’s nutritional solution to managing blood sugar. Each story of someone who has been helped by this product is another reminder that nutritional science indeed holds the key to better health. In the US, 25 percent of adults suffer from metabolic syndrome, 40 percent of those over age 20 have pre-diabetes and 35 percent of older adults have type 2 diabetes. These staggering numbers reflect an increase in sedentary lifestyles and poor diet. But Reliv has a solution.
GlucAffect is clinically proven to help manage blood sugar and weight. An eight-week, placebo-controlled clinical study observed 50 overweight individuals with elevated blood sugars. The test subjects taking four daily servings of GlucAffect lowered their blood sugars to healthy levels. In addition, the subjects lost an average of 16 pounds during the eight-week period.
To your health,
Dr. Carl W. Hastings, Reliv Vice Chairman & Chief Scientific Officer