Last Updated on June 23, 2025 by Lauretta Iyamu, PharmD
Diabetes affects and ages your body rapidly. This disease condition causes the quickening of your aging clock. The harmful effects of Diabetes on the body can also cause serious complications especially when uncontrolled.
Damage to the cardiovascular system, kidney, eye, and nerve of the feet can result in heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, impotence, blindness, pain, and numbness in the lower part of your legs and feet.
Read on to learn about How To Lower the Harmful Effects Diabetes Does To The Body. This damage can occur as a result of the following reasons;
- A sudden increase in the production of free radicals is present in diabetes.
- Glycation process which is also seen in people with uncontrolled high blood sugar
Free radicals are groups of renegade electrons. They are formed during normal metabolism, pulls electrons from other molecules causing damage to fats and proteins.
Their effects can be stopped by antioxidants. However, if these antioxidants are not enough to counteract them, they begin chain reactions that greatly result to accelerate aging and chronic health conditions.
The majority of the antioxidant usually become free radicals once they have been utilized to neutralize the free radicals, they must be replenished by a different antioxidant to ensure the cycle continues.
Glycation is a process that glucose binds to proteins. When these glycated proteins can’t perform their jobs properly, it leads to cellular breakdown that causes organ dysfunction and chronic diseases.
If you are diabetic, you should follow a complete supplement to counteract both free radicals as well as glycation. You can begin with antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene.
Green tea extract and grapeseed extract are powerful free radical snatchers. Below are two supplements you need to keep you younger longer if you are diabetic.
-
Alpha-lipoic acid:
Alpha-lipoic acid is formed in your body and it is very versatile. It is also the only antioxidant that has proven to raise glutathione levels within the cells.
The recommended dose is 50 to 125mg twice daily.
-
L – carnosine:
L-carnosine is an amino acid that is found abundantly in the brain, muscle, and lenses of your eyes. This amino acid is effective at blocking the damage caused by free radicals.
Its major function is to inhibit the glycation process from occurring. L-carnosine binds with sugar before they get to the proteins, thus decreasing glycation.
The action helps protect healthy proteins from being damaged by glycation proteins as well as prevent crossing-linking; a process similar to glycation that causes skin and organs to lose flexibility and function.
The recommended dose is 50mg daily.
