FitSpresso and Blood Sugar: Read This If You Have Prediabetes or Diabetes

Blood sugar is the centre of FitSpresso’s formula. Five of its ingredients may lower glucose. For most healthy adults that is a minor point; if you have prediabetes or diabetes, or take medicine for it, it is the most important thing to understand.

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FitSpresso and Blood Sugar: Read This If You Have Prediabetes or Diabetes
Important: FitSpresso is not a treatment for prediabetes or diabetes. Never stop or change diabetes medicine without your doctor.

The blood-sugar ingredients

FitSpresso ingredients that may lower blood sugar
IngredientPer servingWhat research suggestsSource
Chromium picolinate1,000 mcgSlightly lowers fasting glucose and HbA1c in diabetes; may increase insulin sensitivity; not shown to help healthy peopleNIH ODS
Berberine HCl100 mgStudied for diabetes and heart-disease risk factors, generally at much higher dosesNCCIH
Alpha-lipoic acid150 mgLowered fasting glucose and insulin resistance in a meta-analysis of people with metabolic disorders; other trials found no effectLinus Pauling Institute
Banaba (2% corosolic acid)In 112 mg blendCorosolic acid lowered blood sugar within 60 minutes; few quality trialsStohs 2012; Drugs.com
Korean ginsengIn 112 mg blendImproved blood-sugar markers in prediabetes and diabetes; overall inconclusiveNCCIH

Resveratrol showed short-term glucose benefits in people with type 2 diabetes at much higher doses, and milk thistle may help blood-sugar control in small studies.

Why this matters with medication

Insulin and sulfonylureas lower blood sugar by design. Adding several ingredients that may also lower it could push levels too low. NIH notes chromium with insulin could increase hypoglycaemia risk and may add to metformin. The Linus Pauling Institute advises close monitoring when alpha-lipoic acid is combined with diabetes drugs. Health Canada concluded in 2016 that alpha-lipoic acid may rarely trigger insulin autoimmune syndrome, an immune reaction against insulin that causes low blood sugar, mainly in people with a genetic variation more common in East Asian populations.

Signs of low blood sugar

  • Shakiness, sweating, pallor or chills
  • Fast heartbeat, hunger, nausea
  • Irritability, anxiety or confusion
  • Dizziness, blurred vision, headache

Follow your diabetes care plan for treating a low, and seek urgent help for severe symptoms.

If you have prediabetes

Structured lifestyle programmes with modest weight loss and around 150 minutes of activity a week have strong evidence for reducing progression to type 2 diabetes. No supplement comes close. If you have prediabetes and are not on medication, FitSpresso is unlikely to be dangerous, but it should not distract from the proven steps. Ask your doctor about a structured programme.

If you have type 2 diabetes

Speak with your doctor or diabetes nurse before starting FitSpresso, and bring the label. If they agree, expect closer glucose monitoring for the first weeks, especially with insulin or sulfonylureas.

If you have type 1 diabetes

We would not recommend starting FitSpresso without your care team’s input, given its several insulin- and glucose-related ingredients.

If you take a GLP-1 medicine

FDA labelling for Wegovy advises against combining it with other weight-loss products, including herbal products. Ask your prescriber. See FitSpresso vs Ozempic.

Pregnancy and gestational diabetes

FitSpresso is not suitable in pregnancy or breastfeeding: NCCIH says berberine may be unsafe in both and is likely unsafe for infants.

For everyone else

For healthy adults without diabetes, the blood-sugar effects of these doses are likely small. Regular meals with protein and fibre remain the most reliable way to keep blood sugar steady.

Frequently asked questions

Does FitSpresso lower blood sugar?
Several ingredients, including chromium, berberine and alpha-lipoic acid, may lower blood glucose. The effect is likely small in healthy people.
Can diabetics take FitSpresso?
Only after speaking with their doctor, as its ingredients could add to diabetes medicines.
Is FitSpresso’s berberine enough to control blood sugar?
No. It contains 100 mg, far below the doses generally studied, and it is not a treatment.
Can I take FitSpresso with metformin?
Ask your doctor first. Chromium, berberine and alpha-lipoic acid may add to metformin’s effect.

Sources

  1. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Chromium (Health Professional Fact Sheet)
  2. NCCIH (NIH): Berberine and Weight Loss — What You Need To Know
  3. Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University: Lipoic Acid
  4. Health Canada Summary Safety Review: Alpha Lipoic Acid and the risk of low blood sugar (2016)
  5. Stohs SJ et al. A review of the efficacy and safety of banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa L.) and corosolic acid. Phytother Res, 2012 (PubMed)
  6. Drugs.com: Banaba (natural product monograph)
  7. NCCIH (NIH): Asian Ginseng — Usefulness and Safety
  8. Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University: Resveratrol
  9. U.S. FDA news release: FDA approves new drug treatment for chronic weight management (Wegovy), 2021
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Written by QuocNguyen, MSc, Biology Scientist

QuocNguyen holds an MSc and works as a biology scientist. He reads the published research behind each supplement ingredient and writes it up in plain English, including the parts that do not support the marketing. How we review.

DH

Medically reviewed by Dr Dave Hepburn

Retired Canadian physician, author and syndicated medical columnist (former Canadian naval surgeon). drdavehepburn.com

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