Foods that lower blood sugar

Foods that lower blood sugar

The first mention of Diabetes is almost 4000 years old, whereas its most substantial treatment has been found about 75 years back. Goes without saying, during the rest of the time, physicians and shamans have tried a whole lot of natural food products to treat diabetes. As a result there is a long list of such food products.

Karela or bitter gourd is extremely popular as a blood sugar-countering vegetable. It is top contender in the list of “foods that lower blood sugar”.

The other listings are: Lauki or Ash gourd and Methi seeds or fenugreek seeds.

This is the reason why nowadays Ash gourd juice can generally be found outside the corners of popular jogger parks in many cities.

Similarly Methi seeds are also believed to counter rising blood glucose levels. Some people crush fenugreek seeds and take a spoonful right in the morning on an empty stomach, whereas many people soak them in water overnight and then drink that bitter water first thing in the morning.

High blood sugar: counter it with bitter vegetables

Methi leaves (fenugreek greens) and gwar fali (cluster beans) are also believed to have diabetes-friendly elements, given that both have some bitter taste in their constitution.

Among the berries, amla (Indian gooseberry) and Jamun are extremely popular among the Indian diabetes patients’ community.

In addition to these, leafy green vegetables also score very high on the suitability chart for Indian diabetic patients, and luckily there is a wide variety to choose from.

While on one hand leafy vegetables like Methi leaves and Palak or spinach and dozens of local varieties of leafy green vegetables are available throughout the year, on the other we have stuff like mustard greens, radish greens, beet greens, chawli (amaranth greens), bathua or “cheel bhaji” (lamb’s quarter), and ambati (Indian sorrel) available according to seasonal patterns.

This list is by no means complete. There are hundreds of local and regional vegetable varieties that are beyond the scope of the limited space here.

Goes without saying, the inclusion of these vegetables on a daily basis is definitely likely to contribute to much better blood glucose management in a person suffering from Type 1 Diabetes or type 2 diabetes, or gestational Diabetes.

Is bitter gourd good for diabetes patients?

Although in our country there are thousands of websites and millions of “experts” who keep talking about the benefits of Karela or bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) on diabetes, however, there are not many clinical studies to substantiate this claim.

It is described as a versatile plant worthy of treating almost any disease inflicted on mankind.

According to a research report on Karela…More than 1 000 herbal products have been used by diverse cultures of the world to treat hyperglycemia and among them bitter melon (M. charantia) is one of the most popular herbal resource.

Consequently, there are lots of people who keep recommending it to lower blood glucose levels, but again there are not sufficient scientific studies to back up these claims.

There are many websites that claim that consuming a glass of karela juice is sufficient to make diabetes patients reduce the dosage of their medicines, but again these are not backed by any data.

The most common theory behind all such claims is rather simplistic in nature. The people who tom-tom the benefits of Karela or bitter melon think that its bitterness will somehow neutralize the sugar floating in the bloodstream, however, the mechanisms inside the body are not that simplistic.

So the thinking goes that if you consume some cupcakes or doughnuts or a gulab jamun, and back it up with Karela, the bitterness of the Karela will simply neutralize the sweetness of the sweets or cupcakes doughnuts. However, anybody who understands human biology and physiology knows that if sugar molecules inside the body could be sequestered that simplistically then nobody will be obese in this world.

Having said that, it must be mentioned that Karela should definitely be consumed because it’s a fantastic vegetable. The plant possesses over 225 different medicinal constituents. These different compounds may act either separately or together to exert their medicinal effects. Due to these properties some scientists think it is one of the most promising plants for diabetes today. However, the jury is still out.

On a personal note, I love this bitter vegetable. I grew up in a household where it was a common recipe. One was onion Karela sabzi. Another was Khatta Meetha Karela, which literally means sweet and sour bitter gourd, where karela was cooked in a curry of raw mango, tamarind paste, and even jaggery. Then there was a most special recipe of bharwan karela or stuffed bitter gourd. In this bitter gourd was slit along its length, deseeded, and then stuffed with garnished onions. It was special because my mom wrapped it with cotton thread to prevent the filling from tumbling out. And the use of thread was totally exclusive to this recipe.

I continue to eat it even today, but every time I eat it I eat it for its taste, and not because it is going to turn the glucose molecules floating in my body into water.

And I believe such an expectation would be disappointing in the end.