FOOD & SUPPLEMENT BUNDLE
Foods and supplements claimed to help blood sugar
70 of them, ranked by strength of evidence. 3 reach grade A or B.
At a glance
70 foods and supplements marketed for blood sugar, each graded one by one against clinical trial evidence. Grade spread: B 3 · C 44 · D 20 · F 1. 3 reach grade A or B.
The grade measures how strong the evidence is, not how good something is for you. Grade A means independent research groups replicated a reduction in real clinical events in humans; grade F means well-designed trials established there is no effect. See Methodology.
Claimed to help blood sugar — strongest evidence first
Within a grade, higher scores come first; verdicts without a score sit at the bottom. Follow a name to see its trials, evidence, and limits.
| B | 79 | D-glucose or dextrose (rapid-acting monosaccharide; nonprescription medical product) | Correction of symptomatic nonsevere hypoglycemia within 15 minutes in a conscious person with diabetes |
| B | 68 | Berberine | Blood glucose, cholesterol, and lipids |
| B | 66 | Cinnamon (cinnamon; mainly cassia cinnamon/Ceylon cinnamon and cinnamon extract) | blood glucose |
| C | 59 | Psyllium husk | Improvement of postprandial glucose and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes |
| C | 58 | Okra extract (Abelmoschus esculentus) | Improvement in postprandial glucose and HbA1c |
| C | 58 | D-allulose (D-psicose) | Attenuation of postprandial glucose rise |
| C | 56 | Ivy gourd leaf extract (Coccinia indica, Coccinia cordifolia, Coccinia grandis) | Improved fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes or prediabetes |
| C | 56 | Increased brewed coffee intake | Prevention of incident type 2 diabetes |
| C | 55 | Resistant maltodextrin (resistant maltodextrin/resistant dextrin) | Postprandial blood glucose, bowel movements, and triglycerides |
| C | 55 | Mulberry leaf extract (DNJ/1-deoxynojirimycin) | Postprandial blood glucose |
| C | 55 | Touchi extract (fermented soybean extract) | Suppression of postprandial blood glucose elevation |
| C | 55 | PMO wheat albumin | Delayed carbohydrate absorption and reduced postprandial glucose rise |
| C | 55 | Vegetables/protein-first, carbohydrates-last meal order (non-drug dietary intervention) | Blunting post-meal glucose and insulin surges in adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes |
| C | 54 | Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HAC01 | Reduced postprandial glucose rise in adults with prediabetes |
| C | 54 | Fully cooked green lentils, 140 g per day | Reduced postprandial glucose response |
| C | 54 | Early six-hour time-restricted feeding with dinner before 3 pm | Improved insulin sensitivity with calories set to weight-maintenance needs |
| C | 53 | High-flavanol cocoa (cocoa flavanols; epicatechin-class polyphenols used as foods or supplements) | Improved fasting insulin and HOMA-IR |
| C | 52 | Vitamin C as oral tablets or capsules | Improved glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes |
| C | 50 | Banaba leaf extract (corosolic acid) | postprandial blood-glucose improvement |
| C | 50 | L-arabinose | Attenuation of sucrose digestion and absorption and postprandial glucose control |
| C | 50 | Curcumin extract (curcumin/turmeric extract, a turmeric polyphenol supplement) | Delay or prevention of type 2 diabetes in adults with prediabetes |
| C | 50 | Baked then chilled potato | Lower post-meal insulin response |
| C | 50 | Whole okra fruit powder | HbA1c reduction in type 2 diabetes |
| C | 50 | Frozen farmed Atlantic salmon fillet, 150 g five times weekly | Improved postprandial glucose response in adults with overweight |
| C | 50 | White rice cooled for 24 hours at 4°C and then reheated | Reduced acute postprandial glycemic response |
| C | 50 | A carbohydrate drink taken the evening before and two hours before elective surgery | Attenuation of immediate postoperative insulin resistance |
| C | 49 | Black seed oil (Nigella sativa) | Combined improvement of blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipids |
| C | 49 | Cumin (Cuminum cyminum, a culinary plant material used as food and in supplements) | Reduced fasting glucose and HbA1c as an adjunct in type 2 diabetes |
| C | 48 | Evening primrose seed extract (PGG) | Attenuation of postprandial blood-glucose rise |
| C | 47 | Apple cider vinegar | Improvement of postprandial glucose, HbA1c, and body weight |
| C | 46 | Chromium (mainly chromium picolinate) | blood-glucose management and dieting/weight loss |
| C | 46 | Ground pecans incorporated into prepared meals, about 42.5 g/day | Improved insulin resistance |
| C | 46 | Four grams of dried wakame, Undaria pinnatifida, consumed once with rice | Reduction of the acute postprandial glucose rise |
| C | 45 | Creatine monohydrate (a guanidino nutrient used as an oral sports supplement) | Improved HbA1c and postprandial glucose in people with type 2 diabetes receiving exercise therapy |
| C | 44 | Nopal/prickly pear cactus (Opuntia, prickly pear, nopal) | Blood glucose, weight loss, and cholesterol |
| C | 44 | Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract | Reduction of blood glucose and sugar cravings |
| C | 44 | D-pinitol | Insulin sensitivity and fasting and postprandial blood glucose |
| C | 44 | Baobab fruit powder (Adansonia digitata) | Suppression of the postprandial rise in blood glucose |
| C | 44 | Oral Aloe vera gel or extract (botanical dietary supplement) | Improvement of fasting glucose and HbA1c in prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes |
| C | 44 | Magnesium chloride (oral 5% solution, 382 mg elemental magnesium daily) | Improved fasting and post-load glucose in adults with both prediabetes and hypomagnesemia |
| C | 43 | Resistant starch | Improvement of insulin sensitivity and fasting glucose |
| C | 43 | Guava leaf extract | Improvement in postprandial glucose and HbA1c |
| C | 43 | Dangjo pepper dried powder (individually approved functional ingredient No. 2023-32) | Suppression of the postprandial rise in blood glucose |
| C | 42 | Moringa (Moringa oleifera) | Nutrition, blood glucose, antioxidant, and cholesterol |
| C | 40 | Salacia reticulata/oblonga extract | Suppression of the postprandial glucose rise |
| C | 40 | Vanadyl sulfate | Improvement in insulin sensitivity and blood glucose |
| C | 40 | Maitake SX-Fraction (Grifola frondosa) | Improvement in insulin sensitivity and blood glucose |
| D | 38 | Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol, fat-soluble vitamin supplement) | Prevention of progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes in adults |
| D | 38 | Vitamin K2 MK-7 (menaquinone-7, fat-soluble vitamin supplement) | Improvement in fasting glucose and HbA1c in adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes |
| D | 37 | Kefir (a fermented milk containing mixed lactic-acid bacteria and yeasts; conventional food) | Improved fasting blood glucose and HbA1c in adults with type 2 diabetes |
| D | 34 | Whole bok choy | Prevention of incident type 2 diabetes |
| D | 34 | Olive-oil canned sardines, 100 g twice weekly | Metabolic-risk markers and one-year diabetes incidence in older adults with prediabetes |
| D | 34 | Diet sodas and low-calorie drinks grouped as artificially sweetened beverages | Prevention of incident type 2 diabetes |
| D | 31 | Chia seed (Salvia hispanica, a food or supplement containing fiber and alpha-linolenic acid) | Improved fasting glucose and HbA1c in adults with type 2 diabetes or overweight |
| D | 30 | Pressure-cooked parboiled brown rice | Improved HbA1c |
| D | 30 | Three grams per day of powder ground from whole green cardamom | Improved glucose and lipids in overweight or obese women with prediabetes |
| D | 30 | Well-formulated ketogenic diet | Greater HbA1c reduction than a Mediterranean diet |
| D | 30 | Red wine 150 mL/day with 16.9 g alcohol or white wine 150 mL/day with 15.8 g | Improved glycemic control in type 2 diabetes |
| D | 28 | Bitter melon / Jerusalem artichoke (inulin) | blood-glucose control |
| D | 28 | Omega-3 EPA and DHA (fish oil, a long-chain n-3 PUFA supplement) | Primary prevention of new type 2 diabetes in adults |
| D | 28 | Nicotinamide riboside chloride (NR, an NAD+ precursor and vitamin B3 derivative supplement) | Improved insulin sensitivity and whole-body glucose metabolism in adults with obesity and insulin resistance |
| D | 28 | Freeze-dried blueberry powder 26 g, equivalent to 150 g fresh fruit | Improved insulin resistance and tissue insulin sensitivity |
| D | 28 | Whole kombucha | Lower fasting glucose in type 2 diabetes |
| D | 28 | Five grams per day of dried Sargassum fusiforme, processed to reduce heavy metals | Improved weekly mean glucose in adults with type 2 diabetes |
| D | 28 | One to three grams per day of powder ground from dried bay leaves | Lower fasting glucose in people with type 2 diabetes |
| D | 26 | Steviol glycosides, nonnutritive sweeteners derived from stevia | Treatment-level improvement of fasting glucose and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes beyond sweetener substitution |
| D | 24 | LGG plus BB-12 probiotics as oral capsules containing Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 | Prevention of gestational diabetes when taken during pregnancy |
| F | 10 | Selenium (antioxidant trace-mineral supplement; glycemic efficacy axis) | Prevention of type 2 diabetes and improved glycemic control through antioxidant action |
| ? | score not listed | Dihydroberberine (DHB, GlucoVantage) | Improved postprandial glucose, insulin, and HbA1c |
| ? | score not listed | Commercial blue-agave syrup or agave nectar | Improved long-term HbA1c and diabetes management |
Claimed to harm blood sugar (4)
Here a higher grade means the harm is better established — the opposite direction from the table above. A low grade means the claim of harm rests on weak evidence.
| C | 56 | Unprocessed beef, pork, and lamb analyzed separately from processed meat | Increased incidence of type 2 diabetes |
| C | 54 | Forty-eight milligrams of pure sucralose in water taken ten minutes before a glucose load | Worsened postprandial glucose and insulin responses |
| C | 54 | Fast eating speed | Increased incidence of type 2 diabetes |
| D | 34 | Commercial pure fruit juice with no added sugar | Increased incidence of type 2 diabetes |
What does have evidence for blood sugar
Not foods or supplements: drugs and procedures graded A or B. Chamgap recommends nothing. It only shows where the evidence is strong. Any treatment decision belongs with your doctor.
| A | 88 | Canagliflozin (a prescription SGLT2 inhibitor; Invokana) | Reduced end-stage kidney disease, doubling of creatinine, and kidney or cardiovascular death in albuminuric type 2 diabetic chronic kidney disease |
| A | 86 | Metformin (prescription biguanide oral glucose-lowering medicine) | Reduction of glycemia (HbA1c and fasting glucose) in type 2 diabetes, especially in newly diagnosed overweight patients, including evidence that intensive treatment reduced mortality and myocardial infarction in that population |
| A | 85 | Empagliflozin (Jardiance, an SGLT2 inhibitor) | Glycemic control in type 2 diabetes and reduction of cardiovascular and kidney events |
| A | 84 | Semaglutide (GLP-1 receptor agonist; Ozempic and Rybelsus) | Lower HbA1c in type 2 diabetes and reduce major cardiovascular events in high-risk patients |
| A | 84 | Insulin glargine (a prescription long-acting basal insulin analog biologic, marketed as Lantus) | Basal glucose and HbA1c control with mealtime insulin in type 1 diabetes |
| A | 84 | Dapagliflozin, a prescription sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor marketed as Farxiga | Reduced risk of sustained 50% eGFR decline, end-stage kidney disease, and kidney or cardiovascular death in albuminuric chronic kidney disease with type 2 diabetes |
| A | 82 | Losartan potassium (angiotensin II receptor blocker, prescription drug; Cozaar) | Reduced risk of end-stage kidney disease and worsening renal function in type 2 diabetic nephropathy with proteinuria |
| B | 79 | Recombinant glucagon (a hyperglycemic peptide-hormone emergency medicine supplied as a prescription injection, including GlucaGen HypoKit) | Emergency restoration of blood glucose in severe diabetic hypoglycemia when the person cannot swallow and requires help from another person |
| B | 79 | Semaglutide 1.0 mg as a once-weekly prescription subcutaneous injection | Reduced kidney failure, major loss of kidney function, and kidney or cardiovascular death in chronic kidney disease with type 2 diabetes |
| B | 78 | Insulin degludec (prescription ultra-long-acting basal insulin biologic; Tresiba) | Reduction of symptomatic and severe hypoglycemia versus glargine U100 at similar glycemic control in high-risk type 1 diabetes |
| B | 78 | Pioglitazone (thiazolidinedione insulin sensitizer; prescription drug; Actos) | Prevention of recurrent stroke and myocardial infarction after ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack in insulin-resistant adults without diabetes |
| B | 77 | Finerenone (nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid-receptor antagonist; prescription Kerendia) | Reduced kidney-failure progression and cardiovascular events in albuminuric chronic kidney disease with type 2 diabetes |
How to read this list
A grade of C or D does not mean "do not take it." It means the evidence is not yet strong enough to promise the effect. Equally, A or B does not mean it works for everyone.
Chamgap sells nothing and takes no advertising. See all Blood Sugar verdicts.