Diabetes Natural Remedies

More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates declared: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” After the last 100+ years of a medical establishment ‘hooked’ on giving us drugs for what ails us, we are slowly returning to this ancient wisdom about our bodies and our health. Wise food choices, such as flaxseed, represent a holistic, natural cure for diabetes and other ailments.

What is Diabetes?

Almost everyone knows someone who has it. It’s estimated that 23.6 million people in the United States alone (almost 8 percent of the U.S. population) are living with diabetes, which is considered a serious, lifelong condition. But what is it and are there natural cures for diabetes?

Diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas that adversely affects the way your body processes food. Most foods you consume are broken down into a simple sugar called glucose. Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas, is needed to help move the glucose through your body – deciding whether to use it as energy or store it as fat. But with diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t know how to adjust the amount of insulin to the amount of glucose, and blood sugar levels get out of whack. Over time these excessive swings in glucose levels can cause serious complications, like blood clots and blindness.

Flax as a Natural Remedy to Diabetes

Since insulin and glucose are directly impacted by the food one eats, it makes sense that natural remedies for diabetes would be effective. Conversely, diets with a lot of sugar-added products and refined carbohydrates (such as bakery goods), are understood to be a key contributor to children developing Type II diabetes, formerly called ‘adult on-set diabetes’.

So eating mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and deep-water fish is recommended for diabetics to help regulate glucose levels. Items of particular interest to include in this diet are flaxseed and flaxseed oil. Flaxseed is a sort of wonder food that acts as a natural cure for diabetes on several fronts. To learn more, you can read an excellent article from WellSphere on the benefits of flax seed oil.

It is high in fiber, which naturally helps reduce blood sugar levels. In addition to lowering ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL), the combo of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids enhances insulin sensitivity, which in turn helps regulate glucose levels. Flaxseed’s combination of omegas even act as an anti-inflammatory which helps diabetic reactions (hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia). Ground flaxseed is also a powerful plant-source of protein as well as B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium and zinc. I told you it was a wonder food! Thanks to Diabetes Corner for this wonderful nutrition information, as well as Today’s Dietitian.

Flaxseed and Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed is a natural remedy to diabetes that tastes surprisingly good. It has a light nutty flavor and can easily be incorporated into your diet in a variety of ways. Whole seeds or ground flaxseed can be sprinkled on cereal or oatmeal, added to soups, smoothies, casseroles, pasta and used in baked goods. The natural oil from flax can be sprayed on salads and other foods, or taken as a ‘teaspoon of medicine’ or in capsule form. Be sure to refrigerate as it can go rancid.

Flaxseed is known for many health benefits and it is particularly helpful as a natural remedy for diabetes symptoms.

100 grams of flaxseed yields about:
35 grams of fat (60% omega-3 polyunsaturated, 18% monounsaturated, 10% saturated)
26 grams of protein
26 grams of fiber (14 grams insoluble, 12 grams soluble)
4 grams of minerals
9 grams of water (1)

100 grams breakdown from Dr. Mirkin’s article on Flax nutrition.

You can visit our Flax Seed store to buy flax seed for your diet and help reduce your diabetes symptoms.

Globally, the U.S. has the highest prevalence of diabetes. The number of Americans with diabetes had risen to 18.2 million in 2003 and those with metabolic syndrome (obesity, CVD and/or diabetes symptoms) are estimated to number 47 million. An estimated 41 million Americans have ‘pre-diabetes’, or impaired glucose tolerance, in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal and lead to high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Flax lignans play a very important role in reducing the risk of diabetes. In volunteers who consumed 50g of carbohydrates following an overnight fast from bread containing flaxseed or wheat, or mucilage soluble fiber extracted from flaxseed, significant improvements in glucose absorption were observed. The consumption of 40g of ground flaxseed for a 2-month period also reduced postprandial (after the meal) blood glucose, insulin, and serum lipid levels.

Kelley Fitzpatrick
Director of Health & Nutrition
Flax Canada