When it comes to serious diseases I would never tell you to stop taking the medication that’s recommended by your personal physician. But I would like you to consider making some lifestyle changes that could help alleviate some usage of these drugs.

Conditions like heart disease and diabetes are good examples of how the way you live and eat could have a drastic affect on your health and longevity. Controlling your blood sugar levels can easily be accomplished by watching the foods you eat. I’m sure your doctor has already instructed you on this necessity.

But unfortunately, when these complicated diseases get out of hand, doctors including me must sometimes rely on prescriptions as a last resort to treating our patients.  That’s because people with diabetes are especially at risk of receiving drugs that can be toxic to their liver and can cause nausea and anxiety.

I’ve even seen patients suffering with stroke-like symptoms—confusion and slurred speech—that were actually the result of drugs to treat their diabetes.

The truth is there are some very powerful plants that can help you regulate your blood sugar naturally and without side effects. One of my favorites to work with is fenugreek.

A Long History of Healing

Fenugreek grows natively in Europe, the Mediterranean and in western Asia. It’s long been used as an animal feed and also as an herb in cooking… it’s especially popular in India where it’s used in curries.

In addition to being used in cooking, fenugreek has a long history of healing. It’s been used to treat everything from fevers to colic to baldness.

In modern day medicine there is much evidence to suggest that fenugreek can be used as a natural therapy. It contains diosgenin, which can help your body to balance hormone levels. Its mucilaginous fibers may help ease digestive problems. But the most researched aspect of fenugreek is its affects on blood sugar.

In animal tests, diabetic animals given an extract prepared from fenugreek seeds experienced a significant drop in their blood sugar after just two hours. Control animals without diabetes were also given the fenugreek preparation. When blood sugar levels are normal, the fenugreek had no effect.[i]

This is good news because it means that fenugreek helps to normalize blood sugar—it does not force it down to levels that are too low.

In studies of people in the early stage of diabetes, researchers found that fenugreek helps improve the body’s ability to control glucose in the blood and also lowers insulin resistance.[ii]

You can find ground fenugreek seeds in capsule form at most health food stores. As fenugreek is essentially a food, it’s safe even in very high doses. A typical supplement regimen is 500 mg three times a day.

Stay well,
Mark Rosenberg, M.D.