Diabetes and Herbs--Glucose Control With Herbs?

I try to be objective and fair about controversial topics and this is definitely a hot topic, I discovered. Glucose control with herbs? As a diet-controlled diabetic, I went to the American Diabetes Association for more information and found this research study:

The Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the published literature on the efficacy and safety of herbal therapies and vitamin/mineral supplements for glucose control in patients with diabetes.

The Results: A total of 108 trials examining 36 herbs (single or in combination) and 9 vitamin/mineral supplements, involving 4,565 patients with diabetes (most with type 2) or impaired glucose tolerance, met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Of the 58 trials, the direction of the evidence for improved glucose was positive in 76% (44 of 58). Very few adverse effects were reported.

The Conclusions: There is still insufficient evidence to draw definitive conclusions about the efficacy of individual herbs and supplements for diabetes; however, they appear to be generally safe. The available data suggest that several supplements may warrant further study. The best evidence for efficacy is available for Coccinia indica and American ginseng. Chromium has been the most widely studied supplement. Other supplements with positive preliminary results include Gymnema sylvestre, Aloe vera, vanadium, Momordica charantia and nopal.

I am familiar with Chromium and Aloe vera but that’s all. Here is what I learned about Aloe vera, by pure accident. I had read such glowing reports of how beneficial it is, internally and externally, so I decided to try it. There was a warning that Aloe vera could possibly affect blood glucose and potassium, lowering both. I tried it any way. What the heck, I mean it is touted as being so great for general health. Unfortunately, my blood sugar levels dropped dangerously low many times and during my workouts, I started getting muscle cramps, a possible sign of low potassium. Sadly, I had to discontinue using it.

Diabetes and herbs may be a boon for some of you, but I am more than a little skeptical at this point. Instead, I am improving and getting better each day by using an ordinary healthy diet to control my blood sugars.

My suggestion is to use caution with herbs to control your glucose levels and discuss this with your health care provider. And would you drop me line of your success with herbs? As I said, I try to be open-minded and willing to use herbs if there's no negative side effects.

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