Type 2 diabetes can be a 'devastating diagnosis' says expert
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If you have type 2 diabetes, it means your body cannot produce sufficient insulin or the insulin it does produce is resistant to the cells. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar – the main type of sugar found in blood. Within this mechanism, blood sugar levels can reach dangerous peaks.
Fortunately, you can control blood sugar levels via improving your diet.
Specific items have been touted for their blood sugar-lowering prowess, such as mulberry tea.
Mulberry Leaf Tea comes from the Mulberry Tree (Morus), which in turn belongs to the Moraceae family.
A study published in the Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences found drinking mulberry tea offset the blood sugar spikes brought on by eating.
The aim of the study, entitled “Reduction of postprandial hyperglycemia by mulberry tea in type-2 diabetes patients”, was to identify the effect of mulberry tea in the reduction of abnormally high postprandial blood glucose (PPG) levels in type 2 diabetes patients.
Postprandial blood glucose or PPG measures blood glucose (sugar) levels following a meal containing a set amount of carbohydrate.
For the study, 20 diabetic patients were given plain tea (control) and 28 diabetic patients were given mulberry tea (test subject) to measure the effect of mulberry tea on fasting blood glucose and PPG levels.
Fasting blood glucose samples were collected after a standard breakfast.
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The PPG levels were recorded after the consumption of 70 ml tea along with one teaspoon of sugar after 90 minutes in all 48 patients.
After the consumption of plain tea and mulberry tea, change in the PPG level was observed in response to mulberry tea in all the test patients compared with control.
The researchers dubbed the reduction in blood sugar following mulberry tea as “highly significant”.
“Moreover, the effect size was also found to be very large,” they observed.
The researchers concluded: “Mulberry tea suppresses postprandial rise of blood glucose levels after 90 min of its consumption.”
General tips to lower high blood sugar
As a general rule, you should be wary of foods that rank high on the glycaemic index (GI).
The GI is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates. It shows how quickly each food affects your blood sugar (glucose) level when that food is eaten on its own.
Carbohydrate foods that are broken down quickly by your body and cause a rapid increase in blood glucose have a high GI rating.
High GI foods include:
- Sugar and sugary foods
- Sugary soft drinks
- Shite bread
- Potatoes
- White rice.
Type 2 diabetes – do you have it?
Many people have type 2 diabetes without realising. This is because symptoms do not necessarily make you feel unwell.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:
- Peeing more than usual, particularly at night
- Feeling thirsty all the time
- Feeling very tired
- Losing weight without trying to
- Itching around your penis or vagina, or repeatedly getting thrush
- Cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
- Blurred vision.
“See a GP if you have any of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes or you’re worried you may have a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes,” advises the NHS.
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