More than 11% of Americans have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. The chronic illness causes hundreds of billions of dollars in medical costs each year.
Potentially cost-saving treatments and cures are therefore appealing to millions of Americans. Facebook ads claim that a product called Sugar Defender is “a new breakthrough in blood sugar science” and can support healthy blood sugar levels. Some of the ads even claim it has helped over 100,000 people “overcome diabetes.”
Multiple VERIFY readers emailed us to ask questions about Sugar Defender, including Trudy who asked if it can cure diabetes and whether it’s a legitimate product.
THE QUESTION
Can Sugar Defender cure diabetes?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, Sugar Defender cannot cure diabetes. There is no cure for diabetes.
WHAT WE FOUND
Ads on Facebook claim that a dietary supplement called Sugar Defender can help people “overcome” diabetes. However, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says there is no cure for diabetes.
On its website, Sugar Defender doesn’t claim to be able to cure diabetes, but it does claim the dietary supplement can safely and effectively help with maintaining healthy blood sugar levels and weight loss.
But the NIH and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say there is no evidence dietary supplements, like Sugar Defender, can treat diabetes or support healthy blood sugar levels. There are also several red flags on the Sugar Defender website consistent with similar supplement scams.
The FDA warned the public in December 2023 about illegally marketed and fraudulent diabetes treatments.
“One way to tell if a diabetes product is unsafe or ineffective is if it is marketed as a nonprescription product or dietary supplement,” the FDA wrote. “FDA-approved diabetes drugs are only available by prescription. Additionally, there are no dietary supplements that treat or cure diabetes.”
According to the Sugar Defender website, the supplement is designed to be taken as drops under the tongue or in water and is made with eight natural ingredients: eleuthero, coleus, maca root, African mango, guarana, Gymnema, ginseng and chromium.
The NIH says some studies suggest chromium might help with blood sugar control, but the effects of taking chromium long term haven’t been well investigated. Research hasn’t proved that herbal supplements, like ginseng, are effective in managing diabetes, according to the NIH.
The FDA notes that it requires dietary supplements to include a disclaimer that says the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease," which can be found at the bottom of Sugar Defender’s contact page. It also says “The information on this website has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.”
There are multiple red flags about Sugar Defender and its marketing that, when considered alongside multiple customer complaints about companies that sell the product, indicate the product is likely ineffective at best and a scam at worst.
Customers have submitted complaints to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) about multiple companies that sell Sugar Defender. These include complaints where a customer canceled an order and struggled to get a refund, one where a customer didn’t receive the product at all and a scam tracker report where the product failed to lower a customer’s blood sugar and possibly even raised it.
The FDA says some signs that you might be looking at a health product scam include marketing that claims the product is all-natural, is a miracle cure, can cure a wide range of ailments, promises quick fixes or relies on personal “success” testimonials.
Sugar Defender’s marketing includes some of these claims.
Google search results for “Sugar Defender” are flooded with “news articles,” some of which include the term “scam” in the search result, that are in actuality advertisements for the product. This strategy has been used by scams selling weight loss gummies, CBD gummies and “power saving” devices.
Sugar Defender’s website says the product was created by a “Tom Green” and is sold by a company called “Sugar Defender Research.”
VERIFY couldn’t find any credible biographical information online about a Tom Green associated with blood sugar research. VERIFY couldn’t find information about Sugar Defender Research, either. The disclaimer page on Sugar Defender’s website refers to itself as the “GreenGlucose site.”
GreenGlucose appears to be another health supplement that claims to help stabilize blood sugar levels. The GreenGlucose website does not include any information about the company selling it and does not reference Sugar Defender Research at all.
VERIFY found evidence that the customer testimonials on Sugar Defender’s store page are also suspicious. Photos of at least two of the “real customers” on the Sugar Defender store page can be found on other websites. One nameless “customer” is a model who appears in dozens of stock photos. The photo of a customer with a name, Sean B. from North Carolina, appears among the testimonials as Jack S. from Arizona for a “healing oil” product.
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