TUNE UP type 2 with this South American ‘mountain cucumber’
Let’s face it…
Your doc has an OBSESSION. And it’s not doing your type 2 diabetes any favors.
He’s FIXATED on getting your blood sugar levels below a certain number… and KEEPING them there…
No matter what!
But while he’s treating you with BLINDERS on… he could be IGNORING other aspects of your health that are just as CRUCIAL.
Listen, we know all about the damage that excess glucose in your bloodstream can do. And OF COURSE if your levels are too high, you should work to getting them within a healthy range.
The trick is to not OVERCORRECT the issue… and to make sure that your glucose levels don’t go too far in the OPPOSITE direction.
That’s exactly what diabetes meds do to too many patients.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s a “highland vine” from the other side of the globe that can help you CONTROL your blood sugar levels… while PROTECTING your heart!
Blood sugar control… from a cuke?
Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) is a tropical vine in the gourd family that grows high in the Andes mountain range.
It tastes something like a cucumber… and is similarly eaten as a vegetable.
In Brazil, they call it the “king’s cucumber” (maxixe de reino in Portuguese)…
And ancient Peruvians revered the fruit so much, they depicted it in their ceramics.
Even today, tribal medicine uses both the fruit and the edible leaves as medicine…
Especially when it comes to supporting the health of those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The fruit in particular shows high antioxidant action…
And free radicals are one of the biggest culprits behind damage associated with diabetes complications.
But even more directly, caigua has been shown traditionally to LOWER blood sugar…
And modern science has determined that’s because it can INHIBIT 2 of the enzymes associated with converting starches into sugars:
- alpha-amylase
- alpha-glucosidase
BOTH of those are major targets for Big Pharma in their diabetes drug development…
But the problem with blood sugar-lowering drugs is that they sometimes… and without warning… work TOO well.
And blood sugar that dips too low… a.k.a. hypoglycemia… is dangerous enough to be deadly.
But caigua isn’t a sledgehammer for hyperglycemia – which is a good thing, because that’s exactly what you DON’T need!
Caigua benefits diabetics in other ways, too.
This Andean crop is perhaps best known as a “fat absorber” – which, in cases of diabetes, can help support weight control and improve lipid profile.
It could help keep your blood pressure within a healthy range, too.
And one of the biggest worries associated with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is the cardiovascular impact it could have.
So, why have you NEVER heard of caigua?
Well, much of the modern research has been published by Peruvian academic institutions
And in Spanish!
If you ever travel to a South American country, you’ll see how the locals remove the seeds and juice the fruit into a beverage.
In this country, you can find caigua powders as well as supplements in capsule form online – but file this under “one to watch,” as interest in this South American fruit is growing in this hemisphere.
I’m keeping my eye out for a proprietary, concentrated extract to come out… and human clinical trials to show its effectiveness and safety.
Some European countries have already started to focus on traditional Peruvian herbs like caigua – including the Czech Republic!
Of course, I’ll share the latest with you as it emerges.
To mountain medicine,
Melissa Young
P.S. There’s another alpha-glucosidase inhibitor you can try – and it’s so common, you may already have it in your spice rack!
