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Dear Member,
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so let’s set the record straight: Eating a few extra helpings of turkey or pumpkin pie will not make you fat.
It’s the stuffing and the potatoes that pack on the holiday pounds. The bottom line is insulin and how much your body makes. Starchy foods like bread and potatoes will send your blood sugar through the roof, triggering waves of fat-producing insulin.
In my own practice I use a handful of minerals and herbs that naturally improve your body’s response to insulin. They’re completely safe and keep your blood sugar in check.
My friend and colleague Layne Lowery sent me an e-mail with a very good round up of the best herbs and minerals. These are essential if you’re diabetic – or even pre-diabetic.
These insights mirror my own research and I wanted to share them with you… Here are six nutrients you can use right away to help control your blood sugar.
Gymnema Sylvestre: For more than 2000 years, people in India have used the herb Gymnema sylvestre to help control blood sugar. In fact, the leaves of this climbing plant are prized by practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine, the holistic system of healing.
The herb is also called “gurmar,” which literally means “destroyer of sugar” in Hindi. This name describes the way that chewing the leaves interferes with your ability to taste sweetness. Because this amazing herb decreases the sensation of sweetness in many foods, it may reduce your cravings for sugary snacks.
Dr. K. Baskaran published a studyinvolving patients who took 400 mg of Gymnema sylvestre extract daily for 18 to 20 months along with their oral medications.1 This group showed a significant reduction in their fasting blood sugar levels.
Chromium: Another weapon in nature’s arsenal of sugar fighters is the mineral chromium. Chromium aids in digestion and helps move blood glucose from the bloodstream into the cells for energy. It also helps turn fats, carbohydrates, and proteins into energy.
What’s more, chromium is critical for healthy insulin function. Without enough chromium in your body, insulin just doesn’t work properly.
Chromium exists in many foods including brewer’s yeast, meats, potatoes (especially in the skin), cheeses, molasses, whole-grain breads and cereals, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Despite the wide availability of chromium from food sources, research shows that 90% of American adults have a chromium deficient diet!2 This could be a key reason why an increasing number of Americans suffer blood sugar problems.
Cinnamon: Recent scientific discoveries prove that this commonly used spice helps regulate blood sugar in ways previously unknown.
Scientists at the Maryland-based Human Nutrition Research Center were studying the effects of common foods on blood sugar.3 Dr. Richard Anderson, lead scientist and chemist, noticed that when patients ate apple pie…their blood sugar levels actually IMPROVED!
Further investigation revealed it was the cinnamon in the apple pie that helped their blood sugar levels. Researchers discovered that cinnamon actually increases your glucose metabolism.4-7 It contains a compound called methylhydroxy chalcone polymer, or MHCP for short, that works with insulin to help process glucose.
In fact, a laboratory test conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed MHCP increased glucose metabolism by roughly 20 times.
Banaba Leaf Extract: Traditionally, people living in the Philippines, South Asia, and India have brewed a banaba leaf tea to help regulate blood sugar.
Medical scientists believe that banaba leaf’s beneficial effects on blood sugar are due to its high concentration of corosolic acid, a natural compound extracted from its leaves. Corosolic acid mimics insulin by moving sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells. And numerous scientific studies have proven banaba leaf’s effectiveness.
In one study, patients with blood sugar concerns took a supplement containing banaba leaf or a placebo three times a day for four weeks.8 The placebo group had no change, but the banaba leaf group achieved very good results for blood sugar balancing.
Fenugreek: Fenugreek is an herb native to the Mediterranean, Ukraine, India, and China.
Practitioners of Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine have used the herb for more than 2000 years. Modern scientists now know fenugreek helps balance your cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose.
Fenugreek seed stimulates insulin release. This helps food sugars reach your cells properly. In one study, patients with blood sugar concerns were divided into two groups.9 Group one received one gram of fenugreek seed extract and group two received a combination of dietary control, exercise, and a placebo capsule for two months.
The results were patients in group one saw more positive results for blood sugar, insulin resistance, cholesterol, and triglycerides, compared to group two.
And, three more studies confirm that fenugreek seed extract helps stabilize blood sugar in patients with blood sugar and insulin problems.10-12
Bitter Melon: Although it may be unknown to most people in the West, bitter melon has long been used in South America, the Caribbean, East Africa, and the Orient as both food and a natural medicine. And scientific studies prove its value for treating blood sugar problems.
For example, two studies show bitter melon could play a key role in helping to balance insulin in your body which of course means healthy blood sugar control.13-14 And another study showed bitter melon had positive effects on the serum glucose levels of those taking it, following both fasting and eating.15
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
- Baskaran, K., et al. J Ethnopharmacology. 30(3):295-305, 1990.
- NEW ORLEANS, Jun 16, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE). Study Results from the University of Vermont Medical College Presented at American Diabetes Association Scientific Session.
- Anderson R.A., et al. Diabetes. 1997 Nov;46(11):1786-91.
- Anderson, R. A., et al. J Agric Food Chem. 52(1):65-70, 2004.
- Khan, A., et al. Diabetes Care. 26(12):3215-3218, 2003.
- Mindell, Earl R. Earl Mindell’s Food as Medicine. Simon & Schuster, New York, USA. 1994:116.
- Imparl-Radosevich, J., et al. Horm Res. 50(3):177-182, 1998.
- Ikeda, Y. The clinical study on water extract of leaves of Langerstroemia Specious L. for mild cases of diabetes mellitus. 1998 (unpublished).
- Sahelian, R., Report on study conducted at the Jaipur Diabetes and Research Centre in India.
- Sharma R.D., et al. Eur J of Clin Nutr. 1990; 44:301-306.
- Madar Z, et al. Eur J of Clin Nutr. 1988: 42:51-54.
- Raghuram T.C., et al. Phytother Res. 1994; 8:83-6.
- Leatherdale B.A., et al. Br. Med J (Clin Res Ed). June 1981:282 (6279):1823-24.
- Welihinda J, et al. J Ethnopharmacology. Sept 1986: 17(3): 277-82.
- Ahmad N., et al. Bangladesh Med. Res. Counc. Bull. 1999: 25, 11–13.
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