Harvard University Report: more than 30 natural herbs and nutrients may help impact blood-sugar levels

An epidemic is sweeping the country, one more sinister than any bird flu threat or other killer viruses. Today, 41 million Americans have been classified as pre-diabetic, a condition that—as a result of unhealthy blood-sugar levels—causes you to feel tired and irritable and suffer from poor circulation…many even find their sex drive diminishing. Eventually, pre-diabetes can lead to full-blown diabetes, linked to an increased risk of heart disease, blindness, nerve damage and a host of other distressing negative health issues. It also may shock you to learn that, every single day, 150 people will have their legs amputated because of diabetes.

Even worse, the American Diabetes Association estimates that most people with pre-diabetes don’t even know it yet. If you are between the ages of 40 and 74, there is about a 50% likelihood that you already are pre-diabetic. That is one out of every two people. And, if you are overweight, your odds are even higher than that.

As researchers scramble to identify the causes of pre-diabetes, many Americans are left wondering if there is any hope. In light of the terrifying news about this condition, it’s refreshing to know that scientists—including a team at Harvard Medical School—have already been diligently analyzing data on dozens of natural methods that may help the body manage pre-diabetes. What they recommend may surprise you.

How Do You Know?
One of the most confounding features of pre-diabetes is that it seems difficult to correctly diagnose. Because the condition is a relatively recent phenomenon—one that has emerged as a result of today’s high-sugar and highly-processed diets—doctors and health professionals are still attempting to correctly define what qualifies a person as pre-diabetic.

However, researchers have already compiled a documented listing of associated signs. Some of these include: tiredness, irritability, cold hands and feet, frequent urination and others (see “Pre-Diabetes Checklist”). Most of these signs can start to surface when blood-sugar levels become unbalanced.

Key Cause: High-Glycemic Foods
Pre-diabetes can be traced to blood-sugar imbalances that occur because of the foods that you eat. As you may know, any time you eat, food is converted by the body into glucose (blood sugar), which is the “fuel” that makes the body and brain run. However, not all foods are the same. According to the Glycemic Index—a chart devised by physicians to measure the rise in blood-sugar levels caused by certain foods—some foods, known as “high-glycemic,” can cause problematic surges in glucose.
Whenever blood-sugar levels rise, the pancreas reacts by releasing a life-saving hormone called insulin. Insulin is a signaling hormone that sends a message to your cells to literally open up and pull the glucose from the blood and into the cell. Insulin, in many ways, tells your cells to convert blood-sugar into energy.

Problems arise when you consume too many high-glycemic foods, which cause dramatic surges in glucose levels and overload the pancreas. First, the body starts to develop insulin resistance, during which cells stop “listening” to insulin’s message to open up and accept glucose. All of that extra sugar circulating in your bloodstream either starts to damage cells and tissues or gets deposited as fat. The pancreas reacts by producing too much insulin or by shutting down altogether, which in turn may develop into full-blown diabetes. You may find yourself requiring insulin injections to lower blood-sugar and keep you alive.

The Glycemic Index Can Help
When you consider all of the deadly problems associated with diabetes, including heart disease, blindness, nerve damage, incontinence, amputation and more, it’s easy to see why dealing with pre-diabetes now makes sense. Fortunately, the Glycemic Index can be a good start. Several studies suggest that avoiding high-glycemic foods and eating more low-glycemic ones can positively impact blood-sugar levels to alleviate many signs of pre-diabetes. For example, a study by Australian researchers at the Cancer Epidemiology Centre in Melbourne found that reducing consumption of high-glycemic foods, while still maintaining a healthy diet of the ‘good’ carbohydrates (for example, eating whole wheat breads instead of white), could reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes (Hodge et al., 2004).

However, viewing the Glycemic Index as a “catch-all” may be misleading. Some high-glycemic foods—such as carrots or watermelon—actually contain beneficial nutrients, while certain low-glycemic foods (like potato chips and jelly beans) aren’t necessarily wise food choices. David Grotto, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, states that the Glycemic Index may have value if it encourages people to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, but he cautioned against an “eating-by-numbers” approach (Helm, 2005).

Therefore, to employ it successfully, the Glycemic Index may require additional effort on your part. Moreover, even super-health-conscious individuals may need extra support to lessen the impact of glucose on the body. Recently, many health practitioners have renewed their interest in specific natural compounds, some of which have a long history of folk use for sugar-related problems.

Harvard University Researchs Natural Compounds
Recently, dozens of natural herbs and compounds were examined by researchers at Harvard Medical School. The research team, led by Dr. Gloria Yeh, collected data from more than 58 studies on 36 herbs involving thousands of patients with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Of these 58 controlled clinical studies, 76% of them contained evidence that natural compounds could improve glucose control. While noting that the beneficial impact of natural herbs on diabetes has not yet been conclusively demonstrated, the researchers said several promising ones warranted further study (Yeh, et al, 2003). Out of the herbs investigated, the Harvard team took special efforts to highlight the positive results of the studies analyzing Gymnema Sylvestre, a botanical also known as the “Sugar Destroyer.”

“Sugar Destroyer” Supports Body
Extracts of Gymnema have been used in Australia and the Far East for centuries to help those sensitive to sugar. According to researchers at Dabur Research Foundation, “Gymnema preparations have a profound action on the modulation of taste, particularly [in] suppressing sweet taste sensations” (Porchezhian, 2003). This effect may be the reason why the herb may help support health blood-sugar levels.

During an animal study conducted by researchers at King’s College in London, scientists investigated the ways that Gymnema seemed to stimulate insulin release in the vital beta cells of the pancreas, although the nature of the study technically prevented a direct finding that it could be a new treatment for Type-2 diabetes (Persaud, 1999). A year later, Japanese scientists found that specific nutrients found in Gymnema reduced blood glucose levels in specially-bred diabetic mice by 13.5%–60% within six hours of administration, while consequently enhancing insulin level profiles, and concluded this herb could also prove useful as an anti-obesity and anti-hyperglycemia treatment (Sugihara, 2000).

Asian Plants Soothe Sugar System
Two other botanicals also have received recent attention for their support of healthy glucose levels. One of the herbs, called Lagerstroemia (or Banaba Leaf in the Phillipines) seemed, in animal studies, to perform “insulin-like actions,” improving glucose absorption into cells (Hattori, 2003). In a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers found that a specific extract of Banaba given to type II diabetics helped support healthy glucose levels by as much as 30%. During the study, the team compared dry-powder Banaba supplements to soft-gel capsules and found that the soft-gels boosted the effect of the herb by an additional 50% (Judy, et al. 2003). 

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Powerful Combination
This result highlights an important aspect of seeking out supplements containing Gymnema, Banaba, Perilla Oil and others. If you are considering adding such a formula to your dietary regimen, it seems wise to find a source that contains these herbs in a soft-gel form, which both enhances the overall bioavailability of the nutrient compounds and is easier to swallow.

In light of the recent news about pre-diabetes and its devastating consequences, you are now better informed to take control of your own health. Armed with knowledge about the natural options available, you can now help keep yourself in optimal health for years to come.

 

References
Hattori, K. et al. (2003). Activation of insulin receptors by lagerstroemin. Journal of Pharmacological Science, 93(1), 69–73.

Helm, J. (2005). “Low GI” gets buzz, but does it work? The Charlotte Observer. December 26. Retrieved online December 28 from http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/charlotte /living/health/13487948.htm ?source=rss&channel=charlottehealth.

Hodge, A.M. et al. (2004). Glycemic index and dietary fiber and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 28(7), 1839–1840.

Ikeda, A. et al. (1995). Effects of intravenous perilla oil emulsion on nutritional status, polyunsaturated fatty acid composition of tissue phospholipids, and thromboxane A2 production in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Nutrition, 11(5), 450–455.

Ikemoto, S. et al. (1996). High-fat diet-induced hyperglycemia and obesity in mice: Differential effects of dietary oils. Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, 45(12), 1539–1546.

Judy, W.V. et al. (2003). Antidiabetic activity of a standardized extract (Glucosol) from Lagerstroemia speciosa leaves in Type II diabetics; A dose-dependence study. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 87(1), 115–117.

Persaud, S.J. et al. (1999). Gymnema sylvestre stimulates insulin release in vitro by increased membrane permeability. Journal of Endocrinology, 163(2), 207–212.

Porchezhian, E. & Dobriyal, R.M. (2003). An overview on the advances of Gymnema sylvestre: Chemistry, pharmacology and patents. Pharmazie, 58(1), 5–12.

Ruby, B.C. et al. (2005). The addition of fenugreek extract (Trigonella foenum-graecum) to glucose feeding increases muscle glycogen resynthesis after exercise. Amino Acids, 28(1), 71–76.

Sugihara, Y. et al. (2000). Antihyperglycemic effects of gymnemic acid IV, a compound derived from Gymnema sylvestre leaves in streptozotocin-diabetic mice. Journal of Asian Natural Products Research, 2(4), 321–327.

Vats, V. et al. (2003). Effect of T. foenumgraecum on glycogen content of tissues and the key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 85(2–3), 237–242.

Yeh, G.Y. et al. (2003). Systematic review of herbs and dietary supplements for glycemic control in diabetes. Diabetes Care, 26(4), 1277–1294.