Diabetes, Herbal treatments, and people believe.

Home remedies, herbal treatments are very popular in curing diabetes. A recent study conducted by the Department of Human Nutrition, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, in collaboration with Nutrients Requirements and Functions Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland, has shown that taking a small quantity of cinnamon, from one to six grams per day, may reduce serum glucose, triglycerides, LDL ('bad') cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with Type II diabetes. Including cinnamon in the diet may reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The study underlines the fact that medicinal/culinary herbs have been reported to yield hypoglycemic (sugar lowering) effects in patients with diabetes. Examples of these include bitter melon, Korean ginseng, onions, water-soaked fig and garlic, among others.

However, many such home remedies are false, like the popular belief that bitter gourd or karaila reduces blood sugar. The only way gourd can affect glucose levels is if the patient consumes at least two kilograms of sun-dried and purified gourd peel on a daily basis (which seems impossible and this remedy is thought to be very tedious). Many local quacks and pirs also claim to successfully treat diabetes with similar remedies. A famed clerk from Hyderabad NWFP Pakistan was known to insist that patients stop all modes of medical treatment and also lift all dietary restrictions. His 'cure' relied on pure sugar that had been 'blessed' with divine powers that he personally gave to affected males. Thousands of people from all over the country visited his shrine in the hope of a miraculous cure, some waiting for days in mile-long queues outside his home. But this hoax was eventually exposed when a large amount of his believers suffered a rapid death.

It is also believes that drinking four to six glasses of water before breakfast and before meals helps keep her sugar level in check. There is no medical evidence, however, it is witnessed and practiced by some people known to me.
It is essential for people with diabetes to manage a balanced food intake and exercise regularly to maintain normal blood sugar levels in an attempt to avoid hypoglycemic as well as hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, which can be fatal. People who use oral pills tend to neglect diet and exercise, expecting medicine to do miracles. However, whenever people eat anything they want, medicinal agents prove to be ineffective.

So the conclusion here is that the healthy diet is the key to preventing diabetes and helpful in its treatment. Regular exercise can help reduce the risk of diabetes. Activity can also reduce the risk of developing related complications like heart diseases, strokes, kidney failure or blindness.