Carnosine and Glycosylation

Dear Dr. Dean,I have been taking eight 500 mg VRP Carnosine capsules per day on a nearly empty stomach for months. I recently had my blood tested for hemoglobin A1c. A level of 5.1 was found. The limits given were 4.5 and 5.7. Before taking Carnosine, my hemoglobin A1c level also had been found to be in the middle of the range given. Since hemoglobin A1c level is an indication of the degree of glycosylation, does this mean that supplementing with Carnosine is not reducing my glycosylation? Would Metformin or aminoguanidine be better for this?Thank you!Mr. S.

Dear Mr. S.,One thing we know for sure is that the Carnosine is not reducing your HgA1c-although I wouldn’t have expected it to do that, anyway. I agree that Metformin or aminoguanidine would be better (or VRP’s GluControl™ or AGEBlock™). But just because your HgA1c was not reduced by taking Carnosine, don’t discount the multiple benefits that you were most likely receiving by taking it. Carnosine has a number of beneficial mechanisms of action.Ward Dean, M.D.