It was a warning about Actos, a popular prescribed drug, used to treat high blood sugar in diabetics.

As if Type 2 diabetics didn't have enough on their minds, working to avoid, blindness, amputation, cancer, ED, and a whole host of nasty problems that come with the diabetic territory.

Once again, it looks like the pharmaceutical companies, affectionately known as 'Big Pharma' have chosen to add another layer of worry and doubt on top of Joe Type 2.

Actos is the second major blood sugar reducing pharmaceutical offering (in addition to the notorious Avandia, which was black labeled in 2007), to receive a warning concerning serious side effects.

Health Canada is demanding that the product be re-labeled to highlight the fact that it should not be taken by patients with pre-existing heart problems or in combination with Metformin.

Terrific! Another of the most trusted and popular prescription drug panaceas turns out to be, not a remedy, but a potentially deadly drug, adding another health concern to the typical diabetic list.

The impact on people's trust in Big Pharma and their own local physician goes down the drain.

And our phone starts to ring off the hook, every time this happens. We get calls from Type 2 diabetics, who've just found out that the thing their doctor told them will make their condition better, can actually damage their health.

If you can't trust your own doctor, who can you trust. Many of them seek out a new Medical Messiah, often found in published authors, such as Kevin Trudeau with his Natural Cures book series.

And they contact us. We get calls from diabetics who feel that they need to take their health into their own hands and solve their Type 2 condition.

Like taking Avandia, this route is fraught with medical perils. While trust in Big Pharma has take a serious hit, as people feel they are more interested in making a buck than providing a safe solution, the natural remedy marketplace has its own share of fast buck artists.

Our recommendations to diabetics is that natural remedies that work without hazardous side effects do exist, you need to be extremely careful in your search and to keep in mind that you are not a doctor.

Here are the top suggestions we provide to Type 2 diabetics that are looking for a non-pharmaceutical solution to control their blood sugar levels:

#1 Find a natural product that has been clinically tested for blood sugar control

The Internet is loaded with hucksters soliciting unsuspecting diabetics to buy their blood sugar 'cure'. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug has even less control over these scam artists than they do over the pharmaceutical companies. As a result, it's a buyer beware situation. One of the best ways to ensure that the natural remedy works is to look for clinical studies that support claims. These studies should have been conducted at reputable medical institutions, such as Harvard, Creighton or other recognizable name.

#2 Find a natural product that's been tested for safety

It's not enough that a natural product has been tested and proven to be effective in lowering blood sugar. Both Actos and Avandia were both proven to do that. The product must also have been subjected to independent review by reputable independent testing facilities, such as the Burdoch Group, for short and long term safety. Few natural supplement providers go through the expense of this kind of certification - just a few do. Seek them out.

#3 Find a natural product that has been certified

What does certification mean? It has to do with good manufacturing practices (GMP) making sure that what it says on the label is what's in the bottle. Unethical natural product providers (many of them located outside the United States, where product control standards are more relaxed) claim one thing on the label and put another thing in the bottle. Less than noted active ingredient doses, adulterated product, contaminated manufacturing environments, etc. can, like some re-called prescription products, cause more harm than good. By looking on the label for USP or NF certification, you have a higher chance of getting the product, in both effectiveness and safety that you think you're getting.

Natural remedies have been proven effective, as an alternative to prescription drugs, for lowering blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetics.

By following these three basic tips, diabetes sufferers will increase their chances of better health and a longer life.