The TBT household is refined sugar free, the only sweeteners that L and I eat and Em doesn't are maple syrup and raw honey. But after speaking to other type 2 diabetics, it would seem that some people get away with certain food while some foods act as triggers; Ally, one of Em's co-workers, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 4 years ago and can still eat half a pineapple or honey on toast with no effect on her blood sugar, but she can't tolerate coconut water despite all of the literature citing coconuts as a fantastic food for normalising blood sugar levels.
In light of these individual differences, we hit the internet hard in search of foods that have been proven to help control and/or reduce blood sugar levels. There are so many sites out there that list scientific studies touting the newest herbal cure-all but always remember to doublecheck - so much of the research cited in various articles over the net were wrong or just inaccurate. We've listed all of the references here, with links where available, so you can check them out for yourselves.
As we've stated in earlier posts; we are not health practitioners. if you have found anything in this post that you are interested in incorporating into your health regime check with your health practitioner to make sure that it is safe and suitable for you.
1) Cinnamon
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| image borrowed from http://www.cassiacinnamon.com/ |
One study found that taking 1, 3 or 6 g of cinnamon a day reduces blood sugar levels, bad cholesterol and total cholesterol in type 2 diabetics. The researchers went on to suggest that including cinnamon in the diet of type 2 diabetics might reduce risk factors associated with type2 diabetes and heart diseases (Khan et al., 2003). Later, scientists found that in 2 out of 3 clinical trials cassia cinnamon reduced fasting blood sugar levels by 10.3-29%. However, it didn't lower hba1c levels (the amount of sugar that sticks to blood cells, click here for a full description) (Dugoua et al., 2007).
Other studies have found that cinnamon has a modest effect on lowering blood sugar levels in people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes but, it has been argued that further research is needed to confirm any benefits cinnamon may provide(Pham et al., 2007; Kirkham et al., 2009).
Because of these mixed findings a review of cinnamon found that while it may well be a useful complimentary treatment, there are very few well-controlled clinical studies and this limits the conclusions that can be made about the health benefits of cinnamon (Gruenwald et al., 2010).
Em's own experience: I'm very lucky in that I have a very open-minded GP who is happy to discuss foods and research with me. I've found that incorporating cinnamon has helped to bring my blood sugar down after a meal, I lean towards drinking it as a tea either by putting 1 scant teaspoon of cinnamon into a cup of hot water. Or by drinking Yogi Classic Cinnamon Spice tea which is a blend comprising mostly of Cinnamon, with cardamom, ginger, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon and ginger extracts.
References
Khan, A., Safdar, M., Ali Khan, M.M., Khattak, K.N., & Anderson, R.A., (2003). Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes care. 26(12): 3215-3218. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14633804
Pham, A.Q., Kourlas, H., & Pham, D.Q., (2007). Cinnamon supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pharmacotherapy. 27 (4): 595-599. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17381386
Kirkham, S., Akilen, R., Sharma, S., & Tsiami, A., (2009). The potential of cinnamon to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Diabetes, obesity & metabolism. 11(12): 1100-1113. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19930003
Gruenwald, J., Freder, J., & Armbruester, N., (2010). Cinnamon and health. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. 50(9): 822-834. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20924865
Dugoua, J.J., Seely, D., Perri, D., Cooley, K., Forelli, T., Mills, E., & Koren, G., (2007). From type 2 diabetes to antioxidant activity: a systematic review of the safety and efficacy of common cassia and cinnamon bark. Canadian journal of physiology and pharmacology. 85(9): 837-847. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18066129
2) Dandelion
Another study found that diabetes is as effective as some diabetes drugs (specifically glibenclamide) at stimulating insulin production, without the side-effects that drugs carry (Hussain et al., 2004). Furthermore, dandelion root has prebiotic properties, the leaves and root are said to aid digestion, inflammation (although this is a bit of a controversial claim and research findings have been inconsistent) and inhibit the production of blood vessels (a factor involved in the development of cancer) in rats. If you'd like to know more about this plant click here for a review.
Up until researching this post we didn't know that dandelion was useful in managing type 2 diabetes so we have no individual experience to reference!
References
Chakurski I, Matev M, Koichev A, Angelova I, Stefanov G. (1981) Treatment of chronic colitis with an herbal combination of Taraxacum officinale, Hypericum perforatum, Melissa officinalis, Calendula officinalis and Foeniculum vulgare [article in Bulgarian]. Vutr Boles. 20(6):51-54.
Petlevski R, Hadzija M, Slijepcevic M, Juretic D. "Effect of 'antidiabetis' herbal preparation on serum glucose and fructosamine in NOD mice." Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2001;75(2-3):181-184
Hussain Z, Waheed A, Qureshi RA, et al. The effect of medicinal plants of Islamabad and Murree region of Pakistan on insulin secretion from INS-1 cells. Phytother Res. 2004;18(1):73-77.
3) Bitter Melon, Karela, Mormodica.
This vegetable has had a lot of research attention, one literature review declared that bitter melon was one of seven promising supplements for diabetes( Yeh et al., 2003) but that further research is warranted. Another study found that it was as effective as glibenclamide in reducing blood sugar levels (Virdi et al., 2003).
It turns out that this funny looking vegetable contains compounds that regulate blood sugar, as they have a similar structure to insulin. Research has also shown that it can even prevent the liver releasing excess glucose into the bloodstream (Basch et al., 2003).
According to various sources this is low in calories,high in dietary fibres and vitamins B1, B2, B3, C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorous, manganese, iron, beta-carotene, calcium and potassium.
Em's experience: This is certainly deserving of it's name, I juiced it once and it was....strong! But it did help lower my blood sugar. Some cites talk about sauteeing it with salt, which might actually be the best way to eat it.
References
Basch, E., Gabardi, S., & Ulbricht, C., (2003). Bitter melon (Momordica charantia): a review of efficacy and safety. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 60(4); 356-359. http://www.ajhp.org/content/60.4/356.abstract
Virdi J, Sivakami S, Shahani S, et al. (2003). Antihyperglycemic effects of three extracts from Momordica charantia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 88(1):107-111.
Yeh, G.Y., Eisenberg, D.M., Kaptchuk, T.J., & Phillips, R.S., (2003). systematic review of herbs and dietary supplements for glycemic control in diabetes. Diabetes care. 26(4): 1277-1294
Have you ever tried bitter melon or dandelion? How do you incorporate cinnamon into your diet?
Let us know in the comments!
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