If you have diabetes, achieving a healthy weight is paramount. Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet to help you reach that goal - but there are some supplements that can help when used in combination with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

One of the newest is an extract called Irvingia gabonensis, a West African tree. It works on multiple fronts to promote weight loss. For starters, it stops enzymes that affect both the absorption of glucose into the blood and its conversion into triglycerides. Therefore, it lowers blood sugar and reduces fat storage. But more important, Irvingia affects two hormones involved in weight control.

Leptin is the "hunger hormone" that signals satiety and the breakdown of stored fat. You'd expect thin people to have robust levels of leptin, and they do. But, surprisingly, levels in obese people are often sky high. That's because overweight individuals also have elevations in C-reactive protein (CRP), a protein found in the blood. In addition to being a marker of inflammation, CRP binds to leptin and blocks its effects on satiety and weight reduction. By lowering CRP, Irvingia frees up leptin so it can do what it's supposed to do - put the brakes on appetite and promote fat breakdown.

Another hormone that plays a role in weight management, adiponectin, is primarily a modulator of the cells' sensitivity to insulin. The more body fat you have, the lower your adiponectin level and the more insulin resistant you are. This explains, at least in part, the close relationship between diabetes and obesity. Irvingia may raise levels of adiponectin and thus improves insulin sensitivity and promotes weight loss.

A daily regimen of Irvingia has profound results. In a 2008 trial, overweight participants were divided into two groups and placed on daily supplements of Irvingia or a placebo for 10 weeks. (No dietary or exercise changes were made.) At the study's conclusion, those who had taken Irvingia lost an average of 28 pounds, 16.2% of waist circumference and 18.4% of body fat. They also had stunning reductions in average blood sugar (22%), total cholesterol (26%), LDL cholesterol (27%), and CRP (52%). There were no significant changes in the placebo group.

Irvingia is an effective therapy for anyone with diabetes or cardiovascular disease. If you're taking drugs for diabetes or cholesterol, be sure to monitor your blood sugar and cholesterol levels to make sure they don't fall too low.

Yours in good health,
Dr. Whitaker ^[1]

Want to learn more about diabetes control? Visit DrWhitaker.com ^[2].