What do you think of when you hear the phrase “herbal supplements”? Quack medicine? Snake oil? One of those cheesy natural-method pitch emails we all get? When I first heard about NaturEra from some colleagues who are highly respected diabetes educators, I have to admit, I was very skeptical. But the company was allowed to present this summer at both the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions and at the poster session for the American Association of Diabetes Educators’ conference, so I decided to do a little digging to see what exactly the buzz was about this unconventional diabetes management treatment.
An Israeli-based company, NaturEra has launched two products for people with diabetes, aptly named Sugar Crush (for people with type 2) and Sugar Crush Daily (also for people with type 2, but people with type 1 can use it as well). Both products are “liquid dietary supplements” taken twice a day, designed to help PWDs lower fasting blood sugar, prevent post-meal spikes, and lose weight.
Initially selling their products only overseas, NaturEra is now making their debut in the United States. Looking at the ingredient label might make you think this is some kind of science experiment using ingredients from the grocery store, but Uri Man, President of NaturEra, tells me otherwise:
“Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily are so effective because of their unique, and proprietary formulation of herbal ingredients. There are no gimmicks. Instead, it is the exact percentage or concentration of the active material in each ingredient that makes the Sugar Crush formulas the most advanced products available.”
A likely pitch, I suppose… but unlike most bogus “alternative treatments,” Uri and his team have actually attempted to scientifically quantify their claims with a clinical study, which was presented by the ADA and AADE. Their research has shown that for people with type 2 diabetes, Sugar Crush products reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 15-20% in 10 days of use, and by 30-40% in 30 days of use.
Still, what mainstream medical professional would recommend something not FDA-approved for diabetes? Well, I talked to one such Sugar Crush fan, Janis Roszler, RD, CDE and winner of 2009 AADE Diabetes Educator of the Year Award, to find out what she thinks:
“I first heard about Sugar Crush when Uri… emailed me about their products. I was impressed to hear that their research was going to be featured at this year’s ADA Scientific Sessions and American Association of Diabetes Educators’ conference. Because their products are made in Israel, I contacted Nechama Cohen, founder of the Jewish Diabetes Association to see if she had heard of Sugar Crush. She is an award-winning diabetes author, lives in Israel, and has type 1 diabetes. To my surprise, she told me that she has used Sugar Crush for more than 3 years to help improve her diabetes control. I then had a member of my website, dearjanis.com, try it. He has type 2 and had been struggling with his control. After several days, he experienced a significant improvement in his morning glucose levels and began to lose weight. Over his trial month, he lost about 3 pounds per week. Not a scientific study, but I sure took notice!”
We spoke to one PWD currently using Sugar Crush, Harry Zuker (whose last name ironically means ‘sugar’ in German). He reports that after taking Sugar Crush, his average blood sugar started to drop without having to change his diet or exercise more. His Lantus intake dropped by 12 units, but he said he still used his Glybride-Metformin as usual. He also complained about the bad taste of the product, but with that hodge-podge of herbs and supplements, I suppose you can’t expect gourmet flavor!
For those of you intrigued enough to purchase Sugar Crush, it’s not going to come cheap. Sugar Crush and Sugar Crush Daily together (the recommended combo for people with type 2) will run you $129.95 for 30 days, while Sugar Crush Daily alone, all you’d need if you have type 1, runs $64.95 a month.
Anyone who uses Sugar Crush, or decides now to give it a try, please report back on your experience.
Looks very promising.
I’d like to see more feedback from people with Type 1 before deciding to try this product out. At $70 for one month of the product, it’s an expensive experiment.
I was at the AADE meeting, I think you can use coupon code SUGAR1 on the manufacture website to get 50% off http://www.buysugarcrush.com
I started writing a comment yesterday, realised it had turned into a full-length blog post and so posted it over at my blog here (I’m also not sure how one adds links in a comment section though I see others have managed it – perhaps it’s just html) http://brodiesnotes.blogspot.com/2010/09/not-really-enough-evidence-for.html
This may indeed be a fabulous product and I’ll be delighted to eat my skeptical words once convinced, but the volume of evidence so far seems to me to be too small to warrant too much woohooing. It’s early days – I couldn’t find anything that was published, other than posted as PDFs to one of the company’s two websites. I’d need to know more about the conferences’ criteria for acceptance before deciding how impressed to be by that.
My concerns, expanded on my blog include:
1. Criteria for conference acceptance, and how much weight to give conference publication (as opposed to other forms of publication).
2. Self-referencing news articles which rehash a press release (this was based on looking at one of them so I may have been unfair here).
3. Drawing big conclusions from a small pilot study (anecdotal data is interesting but if we don’t know what else that person is doing to manage their blood glucose levels in addition to taking the product then the information is fairly meaningless).
4. Slight confusion about the methodology and whether or not other medications were permitted by the 51 trial participants (again, this may be a mistake that I made in my quick skim-reading).
5. Fasting blood glucose is probably a good marker, but HbA1c might have been additionally appropriate as it’s often used elsewhere (eg for comparisons to be made with other studies).
6. No mention that I could see of the role of physical activity, and what exercise the trial participants were doing – again, might have missed it.
7. None of the authors appear to have published on diabetes before – although this isn’t particularly critical (I haven’t either!).
8. How does this research fit into other published research on these plants and their hypoglycaemic effects? I don’t think the evidence has been particularly impressive. Cinnamon showed promise in a couple of small trials but when looked at as part of the bigger picture the effect is very small.
I certainly wouldn’t want to underestimate the role of plant compounds in medicine – metformin is a safer synthetic version of a chemical found in the French lilac, Galega officinalis – but unless I’m missing where this research has been published then it seems there’s not enough evidence.
I’m going to try and add a bit of html… wish me luck
Not really enough evidence for NatureEra’s “Sugar Crush” diabetes supplements
I share Jo Brodie’s concerns. Looking at the list of components, and mindful of their unimpressive performance in previous trials, singly or in combination, there is little reason to anticipate such impressive results from this formulation in the absence of some new information about why this version should be so potent.
Nonetheless, the company does itself no favours by having this on one of your research links above:
I would be delighted to be proved over-cautious and (given the concerns about some prescription only medications) sincerely hope that I am.
I bought some at half price, but haven’t started using it yet, because I’m going on vacation, and want to be home to try the stuff. Yes, there is lots of confusion about what type 1s ought to use, and when…I’m not sure I like that. Tune in later to see if I get anywhere.
I looked through the website directions seem simple enough. I’m summarizing below… if you have more questions see their website, http://www.buysugarcrush.com, there are some good downloads (PDFs) on front of website with lots of commonly asked questions and answers.
Type 1 take ‘Sugar Crush Daily’ only. (2.5 ml twice a day at the beginning of largest meals with a 8 oz glass of water)
Pre-Diabetic people take ‘Sugar Crush Daily’ only (2.5 ml twice a day at the beginning of largest meals with a 8 oz glass of water).
People with Type 2 Diabetes should take both ‘Sugar Crush’ and ‘Sugar Crush Daily’ (these are apparently two different products even though names are similar). For people with Type 2 diabetes, Sugar Crush is used at breakfast and dinner. Sugar Crush Daily is used at lunchtime and at bedtime. (2.5 ml with a 8 oz glass of water just before or at the beginning of the meal)
There is a note that people who use blood pressure medication should avoid using Sugar Crush products within 2 hours of using their blood pressure medication to make Sugar Crush products more effective.
Good luck my friends!
Many companies will target large pools of people affected with a common disease or malady (quick weight loss anyone?) trying to make a fast buck, but this in turn tarnishes the products of legit pharmaceutical companies that have put years of research into making their products effective and convenient.
Word of mouth can’t lie, and always do your own research when considering new products.
I’d be the first to do what works – if standing on my head for 30 minutes every day would keep my diabetes at bay, I’d have calluses on my bald spot!
Since I’ve been able to keep my type 2 medications down to 1 850 metaformin a day, down from twice that through exercise, diet, nutrition, and hydration I think I’m getting pretty good mileage out of the various ‘beyond doctor’s care’ things I’ve done.
I’m sure a large portion of luck is involved (doesn’t happen often).
But I also know that compounds like the ‘Sugar Crush’ family can be formulated with a portion of avarice in mind. While there should be some verifiable ‘proof’ that it works for a large number of people, there is always an exception. People diagnosed with diabetes arrive there many different ways.
That means there should be many different ways to turn your personal diabetes dial down. Its a question of finding what works for you. Hope this works for some, and that the price comes down.
Hello again
The president of NaturEra has contacted me with some comments about my blogpost (linked above, or http://brodiesnotes.blogspot.com/2010/09/not-really-enough-evidence-for.html) which I’ve now posted on my blog along with reflections from me. I suggested that they might also post their comments here as well.
As far as I can tell, it’s difficult to draw much of a conclusion about the product, based on the current evidence, as this research hasn’t yet been published or ‘digested’ by other scientists.
I’m delighted that they contacted me and answered my questions though.
Jo
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