Diabetes is a group of disorders which affect the blood sugar levels, either through an auto-immune dysfunction where the immune cells attack the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, thus leading to higher blood sugar levels (type 1); or when the body is not able to correctly use insulin or produce enough of it to deal with the diet (type 2).
Type 2 diabetes is by far the most common affecting 90-95% of the diabetics in America [1].
Fortunately there are a number of foods which can be beneficial in the case of type 2 diabetes, helping to lower blood sugar levels and bring about better blood sugar control.
1. Green Tea
One of the best, natural anti-diabetic treatments is green tea. Green tea has long been used in Asia for its medicinal benefits but now scientific tests have also been done to prove the benefit of green tea in diabetes.
In one of these studies researchers looked at both the effect of green tea on diabetic mice as well as its effects in humans and found that green tea helps reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, promotes glucose metabolism and in the diabetic mice it produced an anti-hyperglycemic effect [2].
2. Fenugreek Seeds
Fenugreek seeds have been found to not only be beneficial with type 2 diabetes but also with type 1 diabetes. A scientific study was done by Sharma, RD et al, to determine the effects of fenugreek seeds on the blood glucose levels and serum lipids in type 1 diabetics after it had already been found useful in animals and in type 2 diabetics.
In this test they found that taking fenugreek seeds significantly reduced fasting blood sugar and improved the glucose tolerance test [3].
Their main concern was for the poor population in India who were not able to afford expensive diabetic medicines in order to control their blood sugar levels but could take these seeds.