Health
Some supplements may pose risks for people with diabetes, experts say
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Some surveys find that about 75% of U.S. adults have used supplements, while federal survey data shows that 58% used one in the past 30 days — but some groups should exercise caution, experts say.
There are many different supplements — including vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids and probiotics — designed to fill nutrient gaps and support overall wellness. Some target specific functions, such as immune support, muscle recovery and bone health, according to multiple medical sources.
Unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, supplements usually aren’t FDA-approved before they are marketed, but the FDA does regulate them and can take action against unsafe or misbranded products.
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For people with diabetes, the following supplements could pose serious health risks, as they can affect blood glucose levels or interact with medications, per the National Institutes of Health.
Unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, supplements usually aren’t FDA-approved before marketing. (iStock)
St. John’s Wort
Dawn Menning, a California-based registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist with Nutu, a healthy lifestyle app, says people with diabetes should avoid taking St. John’s Wort as a supplement.
Primarily touted as a natural remedy for mild to moderate depression, St. John’s Wort could have additional benefits for anxiety, sleep issues, and menopausal or PMS-related symptoms.
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“This herbal remedy can interfere with many diabetes medications by affecting the way the body breaks them down,” Menning told Fox News Digital. “This can make medications less effective and blood sugar management more difficult.”
Chromium
This supplement is often marketed for its ability to improve blood sugar regulation in people with type 2 diabetes, Menning noted, but there is limited evidence and the research is “mixed.”
“Taking this supplement with insulin or oral diabetes medications may increase the risk of hypoglycemia,” she cautioned. This condition can increase the risk of dizziness, fatigue and fainting, according to Healthline.
For people with diabetes, some supplements could pose health risks, as they can affect blood glucose levels or interact with medications (iStock)
Bitter melon supplements
These are often taken to help with reducing blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, Menning noted.
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“It contains compounds such as polypeptide-p, which may act like insulin,” she said. “Taking this with diabetes medications could increase the risk of hypoglycemia.”
Niacin (vitamin B3)
This supplement is sometimes used to help manage cholesterol levels — but in people with diabetes, it may also raise blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
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“I would caution against using high-dose niacin supplements because it can noticeably raise blood sugar levels and make it harder to keep A1c in an optimal range,” Michelle Routhenstein, preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com in New York, told Fox News Digital.
Ginseng
Asian ginseng has been linked to a boost in energy, focus and immune system health. It also contains antioxidants, which can provide cellular protection, according to Cleveland Clinic.
While it has also been linked to improved cardiometabolic factors for those with prediabetes and diabetes, some evidence suggests that ginseng could lower blood sugar levels when combined with diabetes medications.
Β-carotene
This supplement is primarily used as an antioxidant and a source of vitamin A to support vision, immune function, and overall eye and skin health.
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“The American Diabetes Association recommends against β-carotene supplementation for people with diabetes because of its association with increased lung cancer and cardiovascular mortality risk,” Jordan Hill, a registered dietitian with Top Nutrition Coaching in Colorado, told Fox News Digital.
High-dose cinnamon (Cassia cinnamon)
Cinnamon is often promoted as a supplement for diabetes management and weight loss, as some research has shown it can help to reduce blood sugar and lower insulin resistance.
For most supplements, one expert said, “there isn’t evidence to support a beneficial effect on diabetes or its complications.” (iStock)
However, consuming large amounts of cinnamon can enhance the effects of diabetes and cause blood sugar levels to fall too low, which can cause hypoglycemia, Healthline warns.
Cinnamon also includes a compound called coumarin, which can cause liver damage if consumed in large amounts.
Niacin (high-dose vitamin B3)
This supplement can help to promote healthy digestion, skin and nervous system function, according to Mayo Clinic.
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High doses of nicotinic acid (a form of niacin) can raise blood sugar levels and interfere with the effectiveness of diabetes medications, warns the National Institutes of Health.
“These doses can even raise blood sugar levels in people who don’t have diabetes,” the NIH states.
Aloe vera
Oral aloe vera is often promoted for diabetes, weight loss and inflammatory bowel disease.
However, when paired with diabetes medications, it could cause blood sugar levels to dip and increase the risk of hypoglycemia with medications, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can also cause gastrointestinal side effects.
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For most supplements, Menning noted, “there isn’t evidence to support a beneficial effect on diabetes or its complications.”
“The primary concern with most supplements is not direct harm, but rather the lack of regulatory oversight.”
The American Diabetes Standards of Care state: “Without underlying deficiency, there are no benefits from herbal or nonherbal (i.e., vitamin or mineral) supplementation for people with diabetes.”
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology advises caution with all unregulated nutritional supplements due to “inconsistent composition, quality and potential for harm,” Hill said.
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“The primary concern with most supplements is not direct harm, but rather the lack of regulatory oversight,” he told Fox News Digital.
Experts recommend speaking with a doctor before starting any supplement to understand how it could affect blood sugar levels, medications or overall diabetes management.
Ants can be a nuisance. Just ask officials at a hospital in Canada who are dealing with an “appearance of ants within the operating room” that has forced them to indefinitely suspend some surgeries there.
The ants appeared recently at Carman Memorial Hospital in Carman Manitoba, according to a statement from Southern Health-Santé Sud, the provincial authority that oversees the hospital.
It was not clear when the hospital would resume operations, but Southern Health said on Friday that a “limited number of elective surgeries” had been postponed and that the hospital was working with patients to reschedule them. Portage Online, a local news website, reported that 16 operations had been postponed, citing information from Southern Health.
It’s not the first time ants have disrupted operations at the hospital. The insects appeared there in August 2024, but “the issue resolved within a few weeks,” Southern Health said. They returned last summer. But with their reappearance this week, the hospital said it was taking more drastic measures. The hospital serves the area around Carman, a town with a population of around 3,000 residents about 47 miles southwest of Winnipeg.
“Any factor that could impact the safety or integrity of the operating room environment requires the suspension of surgical activity until the issue can be resolved,” Southern Health said. “The safety of patients, staff and physicians is paramount.”
The hospital is working with exterminators “to identify the source of the ants and implement additional measures and support a long-term resolution.” Southern Health told Portage Online that exterminators had “surveyed and cleaned drains, opened walls and sealed cracks.”
“Several methods have been used to bait the ants in an effort to find where they are originating from,” the authority said.
In a separate statement to the CBC, Southern Health said that it believed that an ant colony had made its home near the hospital and that they appeared to be “simply seeking food sources inside buildings as ants are known to do.”
The hospital also told the CBC that the ant problem at the hospital did not amount to an “infestation.”
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The U.S. government is moving to evacuate American passengers from a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, with plans to transport them to a military base in Nebraska for quarantine and monitoring, federal health officials said Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the American public remains extremely low as officials move forward with a medical repatriation flight for passengers aboard the M/V Hondius.
President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that the situation appears to be under control, pointing to the virus being difficult to transmit.
“We have very good people looking at it. It seems to be okay. They know the virus very well. They’ve worked with it for a long time. They know it very well. Not easy to pass on. So we hope that’s true,” he said.
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Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
“We seem to have things under very good control. They know that virus very well. It’s been around a long time. Not easily transferable, unlike COVID. But we’ll see. We have very good people studying it very closely.”
The outbreak has escalated over several weeks, beginning with a passenger who became sick in early April and later resulting in at least three deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
Cases are now reported across multiple countries after passengers disembarked in Africa and Europe, prompting health officials to trace contacts globally.
Authorities in Cape Verde at one point blocked passengers from leaving the ship, underscoring concerns about containment.
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An ambulance evacuates patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship to the airport in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly disease typically spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, according to the CDC. While most strains do not spread between people, health officials say the Andes virus — identified in some cases linked to the cruise ship — is the only known strain capable of limited person-to-person transmission.
The vessel is expected to dock in Spain’s Canary Islands, where international teams are coordinating next steps for passengers and crew.
A CDC team has been deployed to the Canary Islands to assess potential exposure among American passengers and determine monitoring needs.
Returning passengers are expected to be flown on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.
Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
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They will then be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for further monitoring.
Additional CDC personnel will be stationed at Offutt Air Force Base to support health assessments.
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From tracking sleep and steps to monitoring heart rate, temperature and stress levels, wearable devices like smartwatches and rings are growing in popularity as wellness tools.
Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade recently used one of these — an Oura ring — to track his metrics from the early morning hours through a demanding work schedule and reported the results live on “Fox & Friends.”
“I just got four hours and one minute [of sleep], but I have some REM sleep, 14%, over 20% of deep sleep. Feeling pretty good, I feel pretty fresh,” Kilmeade shared during his first early morning update, reviewing the stats from his ring.
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Throughout the day, the wearable tracked his physiological responses to various environments, from the stress of a live television broadcast to the physical exertion of a workout.
Wearable devices are changing cardiology’s landscape, helping detect conditions like atrial fibrillation early, a cardiologist said. (iStock)
Kilmeade observed the data in real time, noting, “You see the stress level spike just a little bit … as I make my way over to radio, my activity is going to pick up.”
By the end of his day, which included a trip to West Point and hours spent in a car, the device provided a summary of Kilmeade’s activity levels and heart rate stability.
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Dr. Craig Basman, a New Jersey cardiologist, joined the program to interpret the data and discuss the clinical implications of such technology.
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Basman immediately addressed Kilmeade’s limited rest. “Well, I don’t think you have to be a cardiologist to diagnose him with suboptimal sleep,” he said.
The cardiologist urged users to treat the data as a catalyst for lifestyle changes. (iStock)
However, the doctor highlighted the broader potential of these tools, explaining that “these wearable devices are changing the landscape of cardiology” and that “the future is bright, not just for preventative care … but also screening and detection of actual cardiovascular pathology.”
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The cardiologist urged users to treat the data as a catalyst for lifestyle changes, noting that he wouldn’t recommend detection tools unless you’re “going to do something about it.”
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Regarding the accuracy of the technology, Basman said there is “robust data” to suggest that the numbers are “incredibly accurate” for a lot of the metrics people are viewing, specifically data like resting heart rate and heart rate variability.
Wearable health tech like watches and rings can track sleep, heart rate and stress. (iStock)
He also mentioned that some devices can detect serious conditions like atrial fibrillation, which affects millions and can often go undetected during a standard physical exam.
For younger individuals, wearables can serve as a “great primary prevention tool,” according to the doctor, given that plaque can begin to develop in the arteries as early as the 20s and 30s.
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For the older population, the devices act more as a “screening tool for actual existing cardiac pathology,” he added.
Anyone concerned about wearable health data should consult a doctor for medical guidance.
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