What Is Diamaxol?

Diamaxol is a dietary supplement marketed as an alternative to prescription diabetes medications for controlling blood sugar. Diamaxol, formerly named Diabeticine, has been manufactured by the company MicroNutra since 2004. Among Diamaxol's list of ingredients are a number of herbs including cinnamon and juniper berries. Although approved as a dietary supplement, Diamaxol is not approved in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the medical treatment of type II diabetes.

Ingredients

• Diamaxol contains vitamins, minerals and a "proprietary blend" of herbs. The vitamins and minerals in Diamaxol are vitamin C, Vitamin E, biotin, magnesium, zinc and manganese. The product also contains 360 mg total of bitter melon, guggul gum resin, gymnema sylvestre, licorice bark, banaba, billberry, yarrow, juniper berries, Ceylon, cinnamon and cayenne fruit. Additionally, one capsule of Diamaxol has one mg of vanadyl, 30 mg of alpha lipoic acid and 25 mg of L-taurine.

Function

• The exact method in which Diamaxol may control blood sugar or alleviate diabetes is not known, as Diamaxol has not been subject to randomized, controlled clinical studies. Some of the ingredients in Diamaxol, including bilberry, bitter melon, gymnema sylvestre and cinnamon have been studied for use in lowering blood sugar. For example, one uncontrolled clinical study in 18 humans demonstrated that bitter melon lowers blood sugar up to 76%, while cinnamon has been studied in multiple trials producing mixed results.

Expert Insight

• In 2005, the FDA cited the manufacturer of Diabeticine for marketing Diabeticine as an unapproved drug. The marketing materials for Diabeticine included claims that the product could reverse type II diabetes, reduce blood sugar and increase insulin production--all unproven claims. In May of 2006, the manufacturer pulled Diabeticine from the market, later re-releasing the exact same formula as Diamaxol. The manufacture was again warned by the FDA in October 2006, this time for false claims regarding Diamaxol.

Considerations

• The manufacturers of Diamaxol promise an improvement in blood glucose levels within 30 days. This claim, however, is a direct violation of the FDA's drug section of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Per this act, a supplement cannot make claims regarding the "cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease". This product is not an FDA-approved medication for the treatment of diabetes and this fact should be taken into consideration when using the supplement.

Warning

• Never discontinue a prescription medication without the prior approval of a physician. Additionally, the consumption of certain herbs and dietary supplements such as Diamaxol may interfere with some medications. Diamaxol should not be consumed during pregnancy as it contains bitter melon, which can result in premature contractions, bleeding or abortion. The exact quantities of the herbal ingredients in Diamaxol are not known, so the side effects and toxicity of the product are not predictable.