Balancing Blood Sugar and Preventing Diabetes
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Leanne
Posted on: November 27, 2006

I am interested in taking an herb to control blood sugar.

I am not a diabetic (my father had type 1) and do not have a blood sugar problem because of obesity. I do sometimes feel if I eat something high glycemic without a protein that it may at times effect my blood sugar. There is something going on and I would like to prevent a more serious problem in the future. I am studying to be a holistic nutritionist and have little experience with herbs at this time. I do know how to control this problem with my diet, but I would like to take an herb to help with this (support the pancreas) and prevent any future problems.

The best way to control blood sugar and prevent diabetes is through a low glycemic index, low carbohydrate diet, good sources of omega-3 fats and daily resistance exercise. Resistance exercise, where the muscles are stressed, helps to increase muscle and decrease fat, benefiting the blood-sugar mechanisms.

For more information on this approach, please see our website www.richters.com . Choose Q&A from the main menu, then enter "syndrome X" for the search. Syndrome X is a set of symptoms that signal insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition.

The herbs that can best help you to prevent diabetes would depend on your state of physical and mental health. If you are stressed, use the Q&A search on our website to look up relaxing herbs and relaxation methods. If you have digestive problems, search for "digest" on our Q&A page. Herbs are used to keep the body in balance. If it is in balance, the hormones, including insulin, will be secreted and used by the body in a healthy way. If you try to stimulate an organ that doesn’t need stimulation, health problems may result.

Herbs that tone the pancreas are the bitter herbs, for example, dandelion leaf. Bitter foods should be included in our daily diet, but most of us have lost the taste for them. I suggest that you include bitter greens in your diet, like kale, chard and collards.

There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with feeling the effects of high glycemic food. By definition, high glycemic foods move quickly into the blood stream, affecting blood sugar balance.

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