Diabetes is a chronic yet preventable condition. It’s important for everyone with diabetes or anyone at risk of diabetes to be aware that changes to your diet can help prevent high blood sugar and manage existing levels of diabetes. Adding the best herbs for diabetes to your diet can also help you control blood sugar levels naturally.
About Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic condition related to high blood sugar. It’s a serious disease that can lead to severe complications if it isn’t properly managed. However, it is entirely possible to prevent diabetes, manage it long-term and even reverse it with the right changes to your health habits.1
There are two primary classifications of diabetes:1
- Type 1: Caused by an autoimmune reaction whereby the body mistakenly attacks the pancreas cells that produce insulin. Without producing insulin, the body will just keep sugar and fats in the bloodstream, leading to high blood sugar levels.
- Type 2: Caused by a gradual resistance to insulin due to high blood sugar. Over time, insulin receptor sites stop responding because they can no longer keep up with the high levels of blood sugar. If high blood sugar levels continue, the entire body and your normal functions can eventually be affected.
Worldwide, diabetes affects over 420 million people and disease rates are increasing in developing nations. Diabetes is becoming a widespread condition, with over 30 million Americans living with the condition. One in 4 Americans over the age of 65 have diabetes and up to 95% of these cases are type 2 diabetes.2,3
Best Herbs for Diabetes
Diabetes can be managed naturally with a combination of dietary changes and anti-diabetic herbs. If you’re looking to control your diabetes naturally, try the best herbs for diabetes:
Pasuchaca - Pasuchaca is a Peruvian plant used in traditional healing. Extracts from the pasuchaca plant have shown to help significantly reduce blood sugar levels and can be taken to help manage diabetes.4
Maca - Maca is an herbal medicine high in antioxidant content. Antioxidants help your body defend against chronic disease, including diabetes. It’s not exactly known how maca helps regulate blood sugar levels, but researchers think it may be due to an improved distribution of insulin.5
Mulberry Leaf - Mulberry leaf is a traditional Asian remedy for healing diabetes. Consuming mulberry leaf extracts has shown to help control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It may also help prevent diabetes in people who are at risk of developing the disease. Taking a dose of mulberry leaf extract before meals can help prevent a spike in blood sugar and insulin secretion after eating.6
Amaranth - Amaranth is a grain that has shown to have antioxidant and anti-diabetic benefits. Research has shown that it may help to prevent high blood sugar and control diabetes.7
Bitter Gourd - Bitter gourd has been used to manage diabetes because it contains compounds that act like insulin. Consuming bitter gourd can help your body better use glucose and prevent instances of high blood sugar and resulting diabetes complications.1,8
References:
- https://draxe.com/how-to-reverse-diabetes-naturally-in-30-days-or-less/
- https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes
- http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25123863
- https://draxe.com/top-5-maca-root-benefits-and-nutrition/
- https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/diabetes/mulberry-leaf-for-diabetes/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16634092
- https://www.diabetes.co.uk/natural-therapies/bitter-melon.html