Although more people are at risk for type 2 diabetes than ever before, the disease is not inevitable. No matter what your current risk profile is, you can stabilize your blood sugar level and keep it at a healthy level through a combination of:
- natural remedies such as herbal medicine
- dietary strategies and
- Changes in lifestyle
And if you already have type 2 diabetes, you too can benefit from including natural medicine in your treatment program. Perhaps this is an herb that will help you!
Astragalus Root: Astragalus root, one of more than 5,000 Chinese medicinal herbs that have been used for centuries, is a well-known immune modulator, ensuring that the immune system is active enough to fight disease, but not so active that it destroy healthy tissues. Scientists now believe this inexpensive, non-toxic plant could be a treatment for both type 2 diabetes and associated obesity.
Researchers from prestigious institutions in China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have discovered that two compounds from astragalus root: astragaloside II and isoastragaloside I, have a highly selective action on fat cells. These compounds stimulate fat cells to release a hormone called adiponectin.
What does adiponectin do:
- is to send signals to various organs in your body that enough food has been eaten and that there is no need to search for more
- it tells your liver not to convert your glycogen stores into glucose. This helps keep blood sugar levels low.
- It signals fat cells that it’s time to respond to insulin to remove glucose and fatty acids from the bloodstream. This is another blood sugar-lowering effect that also prevents your arteries from becoming “clogged” (actually hardened) with fat
- it also tells your brain that enough food has been consumed and reduces your appetite
All of these effects are extremely helpful for type 2 diabetics, especially type 2 diabetics who have a weight problem. Together they help reverse insulin resistance, which is the underlying problem for both adult-onset diabetes and weight gain. So do we all need to go out and try to find astragalus so we can make a tasty herbal tea?
At this time, the best way to obtain this herb is to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, who will give you the combination of herbs that best suits all of your symptoms. If your blood sugar levels are especially high, you may be given a “detox” first, then astragalus.
Professionally dispensed herbal medicine complements your medications prescribed by your conventional doctor. It does not replace them. However, the boost you get from taking the right herb could be exactly what you need, with your medication, to keep your blood sugar levels in check.