Overview of complementary and alternative medicine and diabetes

Abstract

People with diabetes frequently use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and other non-medicine CAM therapies, often combine various CAMs, and combine CAMs with conventional care. They use CAM for a range of reasons, not necessarily to manage blood glucose. The evidence base for CAM is improving, but there is still a lack of quality evidence for many CAMs, and the combination of CAMs and conventional care. CAMs have both risks and benefits: some CAMs, like some conventional treatments, are higher risk than others. Conventional practitioners should ask about CAM use in a non-judgemental way, document it and monitor the outcomes according to the individual's reason for using it.