According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 9.3% of the US population has diabetes – and the numbers are only rising(1).
A safe and effective means of preventing and treating diabetes is needed now more than ever, and some researchers believe that the key may lie with a pair of common herbs.
Safe And Effective
A recent study from the American Chemical Society, published in the Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry, found that the common herbs rosemary and oregano could inhibit an enzyme known as dipeptidyl peptidase IV, which promotes the secretion of insulin.
This enzyme has researchers thinking that these herbs could have a role to play in preventing and even treating diabetes(2).
The researchers tested four different herbs, looking at both greenhouse-grown and freeze dried commercial versions. They found that fresh herbs contained more polyphenols and flavonoids compared to the dried commercial herbs – but that doesn’t mean the dried herbs weren’t effective enzyme inhibitors.
In fact, “Commercial extracts of Greek oregano, Mexican oregano and rosemary were better inhibitors of the enzyme, required to reduce risk of type-2 diabetes, than greenhouse-grown herbs,” according to a recent press release(3).
Fighting Inflammation
The health benefits of oregano and rosemary don’t seem to end there. They both have active anti-inflammatory qualities, according to one 2011 study(4).
Furthermore, “A growing body of epidemiological and preclinical evidence points to culinary herbs and spices as minor dietary constituents with multiple anticancer characteristics”, according to one review(5) – which included oregano and rosemary among the list of herbs studied for potential anti-cancer benefits.