Type 2 diabetes means your pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the insulin it does produce is not taken up by the cells. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the amount of blood sugar in your body. Stripped of this mechanism, blood sugar levels are left to run riot – this can inflict damage on the body.
Fortunately, you can compensate for poor insulin production by making sensible dietary decisions.
Specific items have been touted for their blood sugar-lowering properties and one of the most promising is garlic.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, doctor Sarah Brewer, working in association with CuraLin, outlined the blood sugar-lowering benefits of eating garlic.
According to doctor Brewer, the effect can be ascribed to ajoene – a compound found in garlic.
READ MORE: Diabetes: The cleansing drink that significantly lowers blood sugar spikes after ‘minutes’
What the research says
One of the most comprehensive investigations into the relationship between garlic consumption and blood sugar levels was published in the journal Food & Nutrition Research.
Researchers scanned the PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Intern databases to arrive at a more definitive conclusion.
Nine trials involving 768 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the meta-analysis, and the dose of daily garlic (allicin) supplement ranged from 0.05g to 1.5g.
“Current data confirms that garlic supplement plays positive and sustained roles in blood glucose,” the researchers concluded.
Low or medium GI foods, on the other hand, are broken down more slowly and cause a gradual rise in blood sugar levels over time.
They include some fruit and vegetables, pulses and whole grain foods, such as porridge oats.
Many people have type 2 diabetes without realising. “This is because symptoms do not necessarily make you feel unwell,” explains the NHS.
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.
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