Taking Herbs for Diabetes Maintenance

In order to manage diabetes, diabetics need to take the time to thoroughly understand the disease. Knowledge is power, as the popular saying goes. When diabetics know what they are up against, they can take the proper steps to ensuring they stay on top of their illness.

The key to managing diabetes is eating right, living an active lifestyle and taking the prescribed diabetic medications properly. Each one of these contributes towards keeping diabetics healthy and preventing complications from occurring.

But did you know that there are herbs for diabetes? Listed below are four of these herbs and plants. Check them out. Talk to your doctor about them and find out if it's something you can add to your diabetes maintenance regimen.

Banaba Leaf

Banaba leaves have corosolic acid, a compound that is able to activate the transfer of glucose to the cells, thus lowering blood sugar levels. No more than 48mg of banaba leaf should be taken daily. If banaba leaf is all right for you to use, buy banaba leaf oil-based extract because it absorbs quickly and easily.

Garlic

Garlic is an herb that has proven itself useful for treating many diseases. Garlic has properties that helps lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In addition, garlic has been found to bring blood pressure down to normal levels, a major concern among type 2 diabetics. Most health food shops and a few grocery stores carry garlic supplements. Get the garlic supplement that has one clove of garlic per serving. If you can't find a garlic supplement, you can roast garlic, cook recipes that call for garlic or add garlic in salad dressings. If you have a juicer, you can add garlic to your juices.

Fenugreek

Fenugreek is an herb that is rich in soluble fiber. A fiber-rich diet is very healthful and provides a lot of benefits to diabetics. Fenugreek seeds have also been found to have properties that can lower blood sugar levels.

Essiac

Essiac is actually a herb combination consisting of slipper elm, sheep's sorrel, Indian rhubarb root and burdock root. Since the 1920s, essiac has been used on cancer patients, and today it is proving to be beneficial to diabetics too. Tea from essiac has properties that can lower blood sugar levels.