Indian botanical may help control blood sugar in mild type
Indian botanical may help control blood sugar in mild type
Patients with mild type 2 diabetes might help control blood sugar levels with an Indian herb known as Coccinia indica.
Because C. indica has been used for centuries in traditional Indian healing to treat diabetes, researchers at the National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore tested the botanical in a 90-day, placebo-controlled trial.
The Bangalore team recruited 60 subjects between the ages of 35 and 60 – all recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. None of the subjects were taking drugs to control blood sugar levels. Split into two groups, half took one gram of C. indica daily, and half took a placebo. Blood tests were taken at baseline, 45 days, and again at the end of the study
In the journal Diabetes Care, researchers wrote: “There was a significant decrease in the fasting, postprandial blood glucose and A1C of the experimental group compared with that of the placebo group.”
The A1C result is particularly impressive because this test reveals blood sugar fluctuations that occur over the period of 60 to 90 days prior to blood being drawn.
A free HSI report titled “Diabetes Defeated” offers more information about using botanical extracts to control blood sugar levels.
Source:
“Effect of Supplementation of Coccinia cordifolia Extract on Newly Detected Diabetic Patients” Diabetes Care, Published online 11/13/08, care.diabetesjournals.org
