Antagolin

[AIsha]

Antagolin was prescribed for me to combat insulin resistance. I am quite concerned as it is a new drug and long term side effects are unknown. Would you recommend the drug?

I was also told that if you are pre-diabetic that you should not fast as it makes the insulin resistance worse. Is this true?

[Dr Joy Saville]

Antagolin is not a drug, it is a herbal product. I have try to do some research on the ingredients, however, there is one ingredient that is not disclosed and it named insulin x if memory serves me correctly. So i there is no basis for me to recommend or discourage use of this product. I've been advising people to use glucostop which is a herbal product used in the treatment of diabetes. The ingredients however have shown to work in insulin resistance

There are some studies that show that fasting improves insulin sensitivity and others that say it induces insulin resistance. I would advise that during Ramadaan you eat low GI foods and lean meats, try to keep them as healthy as possible, try to stay away from the fried samoosas and cakes etc(but in moderation this is ok). Once Ramadaan is over, adopt a healthy diet with regular exercise as being pre-diabetic does not mean that you will develop diabetes. This can be avoided if you start taking better care of your health

[Unregistered]

Doctor do you know what the definition is of a drug? Simply because it is 'herbal' does not mean it is safe. Opium comes from poppy seeds. You wont go around recommending poppy seeds to people. There is very little information on the product, how can you as a healthcare professional recommend something of which the intended effects have not been established?

[Dr Joy Saville]

Drug: any synthetic, semisynthetic, or natural chemical substance used in the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of disease, or for other medical reasons

natural chemical: a chemical compound or substance produced by a living organism found in nature that usually has a pharmacological or biological activity

Note: a natural chemical refers to a compound or active ingredient. This is one chemical of many found in plants. Opium which contains morphine is obtained from poppy seeds. However, poppy seeds as a whole does not cause intoxication as there are many active and inactive ingredients which has a synergistic effect. Similarly with herbal products, the whole plant or part of the plant is used such as the leaves, roots, fruit or seeds. These parts contain many ingredients which has a synergistic effect in the body.

It can be argued that a "drug" is any substance which has a physiological effect on the body, in which case food can be classified as a drug. However, in the context it is written above, my use of the word drug, refers to a synthetic product and herb refers to a plant part or whole plant product.

Also, there is no mention of herbal products being completely free of side effects. If there is an indication for a herb, then certainly there must be a contraindication for it as well. Much like certain foods being contraindicated for certain illness conditions

Please see the link below for the 18 research studies done on the product being advised

http://www.himalayahealthcare.com/researchpaper/diabecon.htm