B Complex vitamins increase glucose tolerance, prevent nerve damage and increase glucose metabolism.
Biotin or Vitamin B7 helps to maintain steady blood glucose levels, through it’s vital role in gluconeogenesis, or making glucose out of non-carbohydrate sources such as body fat, which occurs in the liver. It is also thought to improve abnormal glucose metabolism through the stimulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells and by accelerating glucolysis in the liver and pancreas. Biotin enchances the sensitivity of muscle tissue to insulin, increasing the uptake of sugar from the blood. Animal studies have shown that high doses of biotin can increase blood sugar control in diabetic animals. In humans, Japanese reasearchers found that Type II diabetics had markedly loewr levels of biotin when compared to non-diabetic controls. When these diabetics were given biotin supplementation at a rate of 3 mg, 3 times daily for only one month, their blood sugar levels were reduced by 45%. It’s also interesting to note that these patients were no longer responding to sulfonylurea therapy to lower their blood sugar; they were likely headed for daily insulin injections. A similar effect has been noted in insulin dependant diabetics using a slightly higher dose of 16 mg daily. After only one week of treatment, fasting blood sugar levels had reduced by 50%. High doses of biotin injected intramuscularly have also been effective in treating severe diabetic neuropathy and restless leg syndrome.
The Alpha Lipoic Acid Breakthrough, by Dr Burt Berkson p 116
http://www.thorne.com/media/Biotin-mono12-1.pdf
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Baez-Saldana A, Zendejas-Ruiz I, Revilla-Monsalve C, et al. Effects of biotin on pyruvate carboxylase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, propionyl-CoA carboxylase, and markers of glucose and lipid homeostasis in type 2 diabetic patients and nondiabetic subjects. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:238-243.
Zhang H, Osada K, Sone H, Furukawa Y. Biotin administration improves the impaired glucose tolerance of streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 1997;43:271-280.
McCarty MF. cGMP may have trophic effects on beta cell function comparable to those of cAMP, implying a role for high-dose biotin in prevention/treatment of diabetes. Med Hypotheses 2006;66:323-328.
Maebashi M, Makino Y, Furukawa Y, et al. Therapeutic evaluation of the effect of biotin on hyperglycemia in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. J Clin Biochem Nutr 1993;14:211-218.
