| Certain spices might be helpful for controlling type | | | | Different spices have different kinds of |
| 2 diabetes... so who says healthful diets for | | | | polyphenols, so way not add a wide variety of |
| diabetes have to be dull? Think again! And some | | | | spices to your eating plan? Having a healthy diet |
| spices could help you to have lower blood sugar | | | | and lifestyle are the most important factors in |
| levels. | | | | preventing or reversing type 2 diabetes. |
| Let's look at some helpful spices for type 2 | | | | However, there are several herbs and spices that |
| diabetes: | | | | have been shown to help people with diabetes. |
| Cinnamon: Although study results are mixed, | | | | Add Spices To: |
| some recent research shows that the this popular | | | | Vegan eating plans, probably the best kind for |
| spice contains certain water-soluble polyphenolic | | | | diabetics, are best with liberal doses of spices, so |
| compounds called procyanidins (type A) which | | | | try some new spices with your veggies, brown |
| mimic the actions of insulin, chromium and | | | | rice, and whole wheat pastas. Oregano has long |
| polyphenols. A 2008 report in Proceedings of the | | | | been an important spice in Italian foods. Try some |
| Nutrition Society written by USDA researchers, | | | | on your whole wheat spaghetti or linguine. When |
| looked at glucose control and cinnamon. | | | | you cook brown rice, try to see which new and |
| Cinnamon supplementation reportedly was shown | | | | interesting combinations of spices you can come |
| to improve the metabolic syndrome. People with | | | | up with each time. |
| type 2 diabetes showed improvements in: | | | | Curry powders are made up of different |
| - Blood glucose levels | | | | combinations of spices, so try various kinds of |
| - Insulin sensitivity | | | | curry until you find some that you like. |
| - Cholesterol levels | | | | Another way to use spices is in salad dressings. |
| - Blood thinning and | | | | Mix your favorite herbs and spices with some |
| - Their HbA1c level... which is a measure of blood | | | | olive oil and vinegar and see what you can come |
| glucose control over a three month period. | | | | up with. Or simply buy the ready-made Italian or |
| Cinnamon reportedly reduced fasting blood sugar | | | | vinaigrette dressings after reading the labels to |
| 18 to 29%, total cholesterol 12 to 26%, and LDL | | | | find the ones with the best quantity and variety |
| ("bad") cholesterol 7 to 27%. It is not time to | | | | of spices. Fresh herbs such as cilantro are great |
| throw away your medications and substitute | | | | when added to a salad of lettuce, spinach, |
| them with cinnamon sticks but cinnamon might be | | | | mushrooms, chopped carrots, chopped onions, |
| a tasty way to help gain control of type 2 | | | | and chopped walnuts. |
| diabetes. | | | | There are may cookbooks available which cover |
| The history of cinnamon shows it to be one of | | | | a wide variety of ethnic cooking including Indian |
| the oldest used treatments in Chinese medicine. A | | | | vegan recipes or even a taste of Thai vegan |
| therapeutic dose of cinnamon is between 1 and 6 | | | | foods. There are many recipes from around the |
| grams a day... and the minimum time frame to | | | | world which show you how to combine spices |
| show results is often about 40 days. | | | | with your diabetic eating plan. |
| Ground cloves: These also contain | | | | Combining a healthy eating plan with the right |
| anti-inflammatory polyphenols, so it might be an | | | | spices will give you a good chance of reversing |
| idea to include these on your grocery list also. | | | | type 2 diabetes and having lower blood sugar |
| Oregano: Another herb found to be high in | | | | levels. |
| polyphenols. | | | | |