How to Prevent and Treat Diabetes with Natural Medicine - Method4 Using Herbs and Supplements

1 Ask your doctor before adding herbs. Many herbs have not been tested for safety during pregnancy, so if you are pregnant or dealing with gestational diabetes, make certain you speak to your physician before adding any herbs or supplements. Also, even though these herbs and supplements are natural, they CAN interact with various medications.

·         You can also ask your pharmacist about drug-herb/supplement interactions.

2 Buy quality herbs and supplements. Make sure you buy national brands of herbs and supplements and that the companies follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). For herbs, make certain that the suppliers use pesticide and herbicide free organically and sustainably grown herbs.

3 Try bitter melon. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is often recommended for diabetes control. However, bitter melon has been associated with miscarriages and induced abortions in animals, so it should be avoided if you are pregnant or want to get pregnant. Bitter melon has been shown to improve blood glucose levels, increase the secretion of insulin and decrease insulin resistance.

4 Consider Gurmar. Gurmar, also known as Gymnema sylvestre has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine and has been shown to improve the control of blood sugar. Gymnema is generally taken in doses of 200 mg twice a day. Gymnema appears to be safe in pregnancy, but speak to your physician before using.

5 Look into prickly-pear cactus. Prickly-pear cactus or nopal has been shown to improve blood sugar control. Prickly-pear cactus has not been tested in pregnancy, but has been used for centuries as food, suggesting but not proving that it is safe.

6 Add cinnamon. Cinnamon has been used to help control blood sugar levels and is considered safe for pregnant women in the amounts used in foods. This corresponds to approximately 1 gm (1000 mg) every day. 500 mg of cinnamon taken twice a day has been shown to improve A1c levels (and the levels of blood fats). A1c is used to determine average glucose levels for the previous 3 months. Lowered A1c levels reflect improved diabetic control.

7 Take vanadium and chromium. Vanadium and chromium are trace minerals and have been shown to be essential for control of blood sugar levels in diabetes. They may also function as antioxidants. Keep in mind that these minerals are only needed in small amounts.

·         Vanadium should be taken as vanadyl sulfate at 50-100 mcg per day.

·         Chromium should be taken as chromium picolinate at a dose of 400mcg per day. 

High-Fat Diet Stops Diabetes

Researchers from Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden clarified the risk for Type 2 diabetes associated with meat, fish, and dairy.

The scientists studied 26,930 individuals’ dietary data for 14 years in which 2,860 cases of diabetes developed.

A large intake of high-fat dairy products was associated with a 23 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, compared to those who consumed one or fewer portions per day.

The authors also found that a large intake of low-fat dairy was associated with a significantly higher risk of Type 2 diabetes than high-fat dairy.

For more than 50 years, we have been told to eat a low-fat diet to lower the risk of heart disease. Well, they told us wrong.

We followed that advice and lowered our fat intake, and the results could not be worse. We have an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes caused by low-fat dietary recommendations.

Patients need to be educated about which food sources are healthy to eat.

Research has shown that low-fat diets are detrimental in many ways. They not only promote obesity and diabetes, they also cause multiple nutrient imbalances.

The consequences of a low-fat diet can include higher rates of immune dysfunction, cancer, and chronic illness.

We were designed to utilize dietary fat for maintaining cell membranes and providing crucial nutrients to optimize the immune system.

I can make it simple for you: Avoid all low-fat food sources.

Strengthen your muscles to reduce diabetes risk

Here's a little incentive to start strengthening your muscles: a Harvard study published Jan. 14, 2014, in PLOS Medicine found that women who strengthen or condition their muscles more than 150 minutes per week have a 40% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than women who don't do muscle work.

How does this happen? "Muscle-strengthening and conditioning activities may help to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake by muscle," says Dr. JoAnn Manson, coauthor of the study and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In other words, the more muscle you have, the more glucose (sugar) it will use. Otherwise, too much glucose in your blood can lead to diabetes. And if you really want to cut your risk of diabetes, add aerobic exercise.

When study subjects did at least 150 minutes per week of aerobics as well as at least 60 minutes per week of muscle strengthening, they were about 70% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes as inactive women. You can get the benefits of strength training by doing any activity that places resistance on your muscles, such as yoga, stretching, toning exercises, and working with free weights, weight machines, or resistance bands.

Strong muscles can also help improve your cholesterol levels, decrease body fat, strengthen your bones, maintain a healthy weight, reduce joint pain, and fight mild depression.

Glycemic index and glycemic load for 100+ foods

·         The glycemic index is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or how quickly those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels. Also known as "blood sugar," blood glucose levels above normal are toxic and can cause blindness, kidney failure, or increase cardiovascular risk. Foods low on the glycemic index (GI) scale tend to release glucose slowly and steadily. Foods high on the glycemic index release glucose rapidly. Low GI foods tend to foster weight loss, while foods high on the GI scale help with energy recovery after exercise, or to offset hypo- (or insufficient) glycemia. Long-distance runners would tend to favor foods high on the glycemic index, while people with pre- or full-blown diabetes would need to concentrate on low GI foods. Why? People with diabetes can't produce sufficient quantities of insulin—which helps process blood sugar—which means they are likely to have an excess of blood glucose. The slow and steady release of glucose in low-glycemic foods is helpful in keeping blood glucose under control.

·         But the glycemic index tells only part of the story. What it doesn't tell you is how high your blood sugar could go when you actually eat the food, which is partly determined by how much carbohydrate is in an individual serving. To understand a food's complete effect on blood sugar, you need to know both how quickly the food makes glucose enter the bloodstream, and how much glucose it will deliver. A separate value called glycemic load does that. It gives a more accurate picture of a food's real-life impact on blood sugar. The glycemic load is determined by multiplying the grams of a carbohydrate in a serving by the glycemic index, then dividing by 100. A glycemic load of 10 or below is considered low; 20 or above is considered high. Watermelon, for example, has a high glycemic index (80). But a serving of watermelon has so little carbohydrate (6 grams) that its glycemic load is only 5.

·   To help you understand how the foods you are eating might impact your blood glucose level, here is a listing of the glycemic index and glycemic load, per serving, for more than 100 common foods.

FOOD	Glycemic index (glucose = 100)	Serving size (grams)	Glycemic load per serving
BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREADS
Banana cake, made with sugar	47	60	14
Banana cake, made without sugar	55	60	12
Sponge cake, plain	46	63	17
Vanilla cake made from packet mix with vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker)	42	111	24
Apple muffin, made with rolled oats and sugar	44	60	13
Apple muffin, made with rolled oats and without sugar	48	60	9
Waffles, Aunt Jemima®	76	35	10
Bagel, white, frozen	72	70	25
Baguette, white, plain	95	30	14
Coarse barley bread, 80% kernels	34	30	7
Hamburger bun	61	30	9
Kaiser roll	73	30	12
Pumpernickel bread	56	30	7
50% cracked wheat kernel bread	58	30	12
White wheat flour bread, average	75	30	11
Wonder® bread, average	73	30	10
Whole wheat bread, average	69	30	9
100% Whole Grain® bread (Natural Ovens)	51	30	7
Pita bread, white	68	30	10
Corn tortilla	52	50	12
Wheat tortilla	30	50	8
BEVERAGES
Coca Cola® (US formula)	63	250 mL	16
Fanta®, orange soft drink	68	250 mL	23
Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink)	95	250 mL	40
Apple juice, unsweetened	41	250 mL	12
Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®)	68	250 mL	24
Gatorade, orange flavor (US formula)	89	250 mL	13
Orange juice, unsweetened, average	50	250 mL	12
Tomato juice, canned, no sugar added	38	250 mL	4
BREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS
All-Bran®, average	44	30	9
Coco Pops®, average	77	30	20
Cornflakes®, average	81	30	20
Cream of Wheat®	66	250	17
Cream of Wheat®, Instant	74	250	22
Grape-Nuts®	75	30	16
Muesli, average	56	30	10
Oatmeal, average	55	250	13
Instant oatmeal, average	79	250	21
Puffed wheat cereal	80	30	17
Raisin Bran®	61	30	12
Special K® (US formula)	69	30	14
GRAINS
Pearled barley, average	25	150	11
Sweet corn on the cob	48	60	14
Couscous	65	150	9
Quinoa	53	150	13
White rice, boiled, type non-specified	72	150	29
Quick cooking white basmati	63	150	26
Brown rice, steamed	50	150	16
Parboiled Converted white rice (Uncle Ben's®)	38	150	14
Whole wheat kernels, average	45	50	15
Bulgur, average	47	150	12
COOKIES AND CRACKERS
Graham crackers	74	25	13
Vanilla wafers	77	25	14
Shortbread	64	25	10
Rice cakes, average	82	25	17
Rye crisps, average	64	25	11
Soda crackers	74	25	12
DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES
Ice cream, regular, average	62	50	8
Ice cream, premium (Sara Lee®)	38	50	3
Milk, full-fat, average	31	250 mL	4
Milk, skim, average	31	250 mL	4
Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average	33	200	11
FRUITS
Apple, average	36	120	5
Banana, raw, average	48	120	11
Dates, dried, average	42	60	18
Grapefruit	25	120	3
Grapes, black	59	120	11
Oranges, raw, average	45	120	5
Peach, average	42	120	5
Peach, canned in light syrup	52	120	9
Pear, raw, average	38	120	4
Pear, canned in pear juice	44	120	5
Prunes, pitted	29	60	10
Raisins	64	60	28
Watermelon	72	120	4
BEANS AND NUTS
Baked beans	40	150	6
Black-eyed peas	50	150	15
Black beans	30	150	7
Chickpeas	10	150	3
Chickpeas, canned in brine	42	150	9
Navy beans, average	39	150	12
Kidney beans, average	34	150	9
Lentils	28	150	5
Soy beans, average	15	150	1
Cashews, salted	22	50	3
Peanuts	13	50	1
PASTA and NOODLES
Fettucini	32	180	15
Macaroni, average	50	180	24
Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft®)	64	180	33
Spaghetti, white, boiled, average	46	180	22
Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min	58	180	26
Spaghetti, whole-grain, boiled	42	180	17
SNACK FOODS
Corn chips, plain, salted	42	50	11
Fruit Roll-Ups®	99	30	24
M & M's®, peanut	33	30	6
Microwave popcorn, plain, average	65	20	7
Potato chips, average	56	50	12
Pretzels, oven-baked	83	30	16
Snickers Bar®, average	51	60	18
VEGETABLES
Green peas	54	80	4
Carrots, average	39	80	2
Parsnips	52	80	4
Baked russet potato	111	150	33
Boiled white potato, average	82	150	21
Instant mashed potato, average	87	150	17
Sweet potato, average	70	150	22
Yam, average	54	150	20
MISCELLANEOUS
Hummus (chickpea salad dip)	6	30	0
Chicken nuggets, frozen, reheated in microwave oven 5 min	46	100	7
Pizza, plain baked dough, served with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce	80	100	22
Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut®)	36	100	9
Honey, average	61	25	12

·         The complete list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 1,000 foods can be found in the article "International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008" by Fiona S. Atkinson, Kaye Foster-Powell, and Jennie C. Brand-Miller in the December 2008 issue of Diabetes Care, Vol. 31, number 12, pages 2281-2283.