For centuries, plants have been used to treat diabetes. Many scientific studies are now finding these old ‘cures’ to be very effective. Diabetes herbal medicine provides a far less expensive, natural means by which to treat the disease. According to HolisticOnline.com, the following herbs have been found to have been substantially documented as effective and they are relatively non-toxic. They are:
PterocarupusMarsupium (Indian Kino, Malabar Kino, Pitasara, Venga)
This tree has gum-resin that looks like tried blood. It has a long history as a diabetes herbal medicine in India. Studies have shown the barks extract, epicatechin, to prevenalloxan-induced beta cell damage in rats. The extract has also been shown to regenerate functional beta cells. It is the only diabetes herbal medicine to date that has shown this regenerative ability.
Momordicacharantia (Bitter Melon)
Also known as the balsam pear, this tropical vegetable is widely cultivated in Asia, Africa, and South America. It is a very popular diabetes herbal medicine and has been used extensively to lower blood sugar. It has been found, in studies, to be more potent than tolbutamide, a drug which is often used to treat diabetes. The vegetable also seems to have insulin-like effects. This diabetes herbal medicine has been known to react negatively to certain diabetes medications, so be sure to speak with your doctor before using the herbal remedy.
GymnemaSylvestre (Gurmar, Meshasringi, Cherukurinja)
This plant has been found useful in helping the pancreas to produce insulin for type-2 diabetes patients. It has also improved the body’s ability to use insulin to lower blood sugar levels in both type-1 and type-2 diabetes patients. It also decreases cravings for sweets. Some people take 500 mg per day of this extract to keep blood-sugar levels from spiking.
Chinese Diabetes Herbal Medicine
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diabetes is called the Wasting and Thirsting Disease. A Chinese medical diagnosis is really needed to identify the parts of the body involved and which Chinese diabetes herbal medicine to use. Most Chinese medicine practitioners will use herbal formulas or combinations of herbs to treat diabetic patients. Although, there have been Chinese herbs used alone to treat Diabetes.
Bitter Melon and GymnemaSylvestre (listed above) are sometimes used by themselves for the treatment of diabetes in TCM. Trichosanthis root is another useful herb. Fenugreek has also shown itself to be helpful in diabetes treatment, according to Dr. Shen’s Quality Chinese Herbs website.
According to the website, 15 different Chinese herbal medicines were examined in 16 clinical trials. The study found that Chinese herbal medicine generally helped to lower blood sugar levels in pre-diabetics. Researchers also found that adding Chinese herbal medicine to lifestyle changes double the likeliness that blood-sugar levels would return to normal and that pre-diabetics that used these remedies were two-thirds less likely to progress to diabetes type-2. These findings have been published by the Cochrane Collaboration, which is an international organization that evaluates medical research.
