Best herbs for diabetes

By Sade Oguntola

GarlicDiabetes is an ailment afflicting many from various walks of life in different countries. Though there are various approaches to reduce the ill effects of diabetes and its secondary complications, herbal formulations are preferred due to lesser side effects and low cost. Meanwhile, many medicinal plants have shown some promise in lowering blood sugar, boosting insulin sensitivity, reducing high blood pressure and cholesterol, and more.

Bitter Melon
The aptly named bitter melon is thought to help cells use glucose more effectively and block sugar absorption in the intestine. When Philippine researchers had men and women take bitter melon in capsule form for three months, they had slight, but consistently, lower blood sugar than those taking a placebo.

Prickly Pear Cactus
The ripe fruit of this cactus was shown in some small studies to lower blood sugar level. Researchers speculate that the fruit may possibly lower blood sugar because it contains components that work similarly to insulin. The fruit is also high in fiber.

Ginseng
Known for its immune-boosting and disease-fighting benefits, this Chinese herb has several positive effects on diabetes. Researchers have found that ginseng slows carbohydrate absorption; increases cells’ ability to use glucose; and increases insulin secretion from the pancreas. A team from the University of Toronto equally demonstrated that ginseng capsules lower blood glucose 15 to 20 per cent compared to placebo pills.

Onion
Onion has significant blood sugar lowering action. The principal active ingredients are believed to be allyl propyl disulphide (APDS) and diallyl disulphide oxide (allicin), although other constituents, such as flavonoids may play a role as well. There are evidences also suggesting that onion lowers glucose level by competing with insulin for insulin-inactivating sites in the liver. This results in an increase of free insulin. Even at low amounts used in the diet, it is still beneficial. The effects were similar in both raw and boiled onion extracts.

Breadfruit
The slightly yellow leaves of breadfruit are used to reduce high blood pressure, asthma and control diabetes. It was alleged that there is actually a risk of lowering blood pressure too much if the dosage is too strong. A group of researchers, including Drs. J.O Moody and O.O Oyelola, from the University of Ibadan, tried this out and found that the organic extract of the bark of the plant had the highest potentials of reducing blood sugar level. This gave a significant reduction in blood sugar level (69.4 per cent at 240 hours), which was in comparable in range with reference standard diabetes drug (65.8 per cent reduction at 0.5mg/kg dose level).

Garlic
Allicin, a sulfur-containing compound found in garlic is responsible for its pungent odour and it has been shown to have significant ability to lower blood sugar level. This effect is thought to be due to increased hepatic metabolism, increased insulin release from pancreatic beta cells and/or insulin sparing effect according to a 1980 edition of the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. Garlic administered orally to sucrose fed rabbits significantly increased absorption of glucose from the blood and free amino acid content, decreased fasting blood glucose, and cholesterol levels in blood in comparison.

Aloe vera
Aloe, a popular houseplant, has a long history as a multipurpose folk remedy. The plant can be separated into two basic products: gel and latex. Aloe vera gel is the leaf pulp or mucilage. Aloe latex, commonly referred to as “aloe juice,” is a bitter yellow exudate from the outer skin of the leaves. Extracts of aloe gum researchers found to effectively increase glucose tolerance in both normal and diabetic rats. Its action was through stimulation of production and release of insulin from pancreatic beta cells. This plant’s gel also improves wound healing in diabetic mice, a study in the 1989 edition of the Journal American Pediatric Medical Association said.

Neem
Extracts of this plant showed ability to reduce blood sugar level in streptozotocin treated rats and this effect is because of increase in glucose uptake and glycogen deposition in rat. Apart from having anti -diabetic activity, this plant also protects against malaria and helps in regulating fertility.

Mango
The leaves of this plant are used in the treatment of diabetes in Nigerian folk medicine, although when aqueous extract was given orally, it did not alter blood glucose level in either rats with normal blood sugar levels or those with induced diabetes. However, its sugar lowering effect on the blood was seen when the extract and glucose were administered simultaneously and also when the extract was given to the rats 60 minutes before the glucose according to researchers in the 1999 edition of the journal, Phytotherapy Research. This may be due to an intestinal reduction of the absorption of glucose.

Holy basil
Holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) referred to as Efinrin in Yoruba land is known for its medicinal properties. The aqueous extract of its leaves significantly reduced blood sugar level in both normal and induced diabetic rats. Similarly there was a reduction in fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol and total lipid. Oral administration of plant extract (200 mg/kg) for 30 days led to decrease in the blood glucose level by approximately 9.06 and 26.4 per cent on 15 and 30 days of the experiment respectively.

Protect your sight with palm wine, vegetables

By Seye Adeniyi

YOU must have probably been overfed with the news that fruits and vegetables are good for your health. You must have also heard that we need to eat fruits and vegetables regularly to prevent diseases like stomach diseases, breast and colon cancer. But are you sure you have heard that certain green leafy vegetables prevent eye diseases? Although you may be familiar with the report that carrot is good for the eyes so also are formulated drugs or supplements containing yeast, but have you ever wondered what is in palm wine that make people say its consumption boost of sight?

For your information, it is not totally bad to drink palm wine provided you are not drinking the “chemicalised” type — that is, palm wine whose taste has been enhanced with artificial sweetners like sarcarine. Some eye doctors and optometrists say as yeast is good for the eyes, likewise palm wine helps in enhancing sight, but with a word of caution: Fermented palm wine should not be taken as it contains high quantity of alcohol which is injurious to organs of the body like liver, kidney and eyes.

Unfermented palm wine it was reported, contains good amount of yeast, though there are other formulated yeast tablets. It is also beneficial to the body as well. Other precautionary measures that must be observed when considering drinking palm wine to enhance the sight is that it must not be the adulterated type. However, to prevent cataract and other eye diseases like macular degeneration, green leafy vegetables are the sure bet. Vegetables, it should be emphasised are not only associated with lower risk of colon and stomach cancers, some of them are exceptionally good for preventing cataract.

As we age, our eyes also age and are prone to some ailments and diseases and the older lens would no longer have the ability to adjust as accurately as we would wish at different distances. Not only that, older eye pupils would no longer dilates as much as possible to let light reach the retina. For instance, an 80-year-old retina cannot perform as a 20year old retina in a well-illuminated room. This is because an 80-year-old retina receives one-sixth of the light of a 20-year-old retina in a well-illuminated room and one-sixteenth as much light in a darker room.

Also, as we advance in age, the eye is also become more vulnerable to cataract(clouded lens) and macular degeneration (which means the deterioration of the centre of the retina, or macula). Cataract is more often seen in older people, but may also occur at any time of life. For those who does not know what cataract means, it is a cloudy, opaque area in the lens of the eye, arising form thickening of the protein substances within the lens itself. Cataract that interferes with normal vision can be removed surgically depending on doctor’s advice.

However, to prevent us from developing cataract in old age and guard against other eye diseases such as macular degeneration and astigmatism as well as inconveniences of using eye glasses, it is advisable we start to make certain green leafy vegetables necessary part of our diet. It has been confirmed by scientists and natural medicine doctors that regular eating of green leaf vegetables like ugwu, amaranthus, spinach and lettuce is good for the eye. They are jam-packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, magnesium, potassium, iron, lutein, and phytochemicals that prevent macular degeneration and cataract, the leading causes of blindness in people over the age of 60 worldwide.

Leafy green vegetables contain two important natural carotenoid pigments called lutein and zeaxanthin — which have been identified by scientists to help in protecting the lens and retina of the eye. These pigments concentrate in the eyes when leafy vegetables are eaten regularly. Lutein and zeaxanthin accumulate in large quantity in the eye lens than in the macular, thus creating a barrier against developing cataract particularly. You may also ask: How do these pigments (lutein and zeaxanthin) found in high quantity in green leafy vegetables does protect from cataract?

Dr. Kayode Oriyelu the director of BSN Naturalist Care and the duo of Drs. Nurudeen Animasaun and Femi Adekunle unanimously agreed that in both the lens and the retina of the eyes, lutein and zeaxanthin act as antioxidant that scavenge marauding oxygen molecules called free radicals. These two pigments in the retina also act as a filter that absorbs short wavelength or blue-light, which may be toxic to the retina and harm other eye’s sensitive tissues, leading to its damage. Green leafy vegetables are also rich in micronutrients that can protect the eyes from other eye infections.