Dangers of Bogus Diabetes Cures – Healthline

Last month the Federal Trade Commission sent cease-and-desist letters to 10 companies for advertising unproven treatments or cures for diabetes in a joint effort with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It ordered these companies to stop making unsubstantiated claims or face legal action by the FDA.

It wasn’t the first time companies pushing questionable products claiming to disrupt, or even cure, diabetes have been called out by the FDA. And it won’t be the last. But for every company that receives formal notice, there are likely hundreds more that continue marketing these counterfeits.

Far from being harmless, fake diabetes cures and treatments are risky and can lead to serious health consequences.

The most apparent risk happens when a person using one of these fake treatments stops taking insulin or other prescribed medications, destroying their glucose management. At its most extreme this can result in life threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or lead to a diabetic coma.

These untested treatments can also have unpredictable negative interactions with legitimate diabetes medications, disrupting glucose management. Consequently, even if the person continues taking insulin or other prescribed medications, adding these fake treatments can risk undermining the effectiveness of their meds and experiencing adverse reactions.

If the person is lucky enough to avoid any physical effects, the risk of psychological consequences remain, which can ultimately undermine their ability to continue managing their diabetes effectively.

“People who have tried different ‘cures’ and have failed become despondent and mistrusting,” Dr. Sof Andrikopoulos, CEO at the Australian Diabetes Society, told DiabetesMine. “I know of many people who start to question even legitimate sources of information.”

So, where do these fakes come from, and how is it that people fall for them?

Fake cures come in several forms. Pills or dietary supplements are probably the most familiar. But they can also take the form of questionable medical procedures or extreme diets.

Pills and supplements are pitched as containing a miracle ingredient that controls blood sugars and restores health. Often it’s an obscure substance, like fulvic acid. But they can also be made from familiar, seemingly benign substances like cinnamon.

Questionable medical procedures are sold as being a better version of some function a healthy body would do naturally. A few years ago, one such procedure being carried out by a questionable clinic in Sacramento, California, had people receiving insulin infusions intravenously. Falsely branded as an “artificial pancreas” treatment, the procedure did nothing to change the body’s ability to produce or effectively use insulin. It merely injected insulin into the bloodstream in very small doses over several hours …….

Source: https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/fake-cures-for-diabetes-damage