Is Astragalus, the Next Anti-Diabetes Herb to Help With Weight Loss and Lower Blood Sugar Levels?

Although more people than ever are at risk of type 2 diabetes, the disease is not inevitable. Regardless of your current risk profile, you can stabilize and maintain your blood sugar at healthy levels by using a combination of:

• Natural remedies such as medicinal herbs
• nutritional strategies and
• Lifestyle Changes

And if you already have type 2 diabetes, you too can benefit from incorporating naturopathy into your treatment regimen. Maybe this is an herb that will help you!

Astragalus Root: Astragalus root, one of over five thousand Chinese medicinal herbs used for centuries, is a well-known immunomodulator that ensures the immune system is active enough to fight disease but not so active as to destroy healthy tissue. Now scientists think this inexpensive, non-toxic plant could be a treatment for both type 2 diabetes and the obesity associated with it.

Researchers at renowned institutions in China, Hong Kong and the UK have found that two compounds in astragalus root: astragaloside II and isoastragaloside I, have a very selective effect on fat cells. These compounds stimulate fat cells to release a hormone called adiponectin.

What adiponectin does:

• is to send signals to various organs in your body that enough food has been eaten and you don’t need to go looking for more
• tells your liver not to convert its glycogen stores into glucose. This helps keep blood sugar levels down
• tells fat cells it’s time to respond to insulin to remove glucose and fatty acids from your bloodstream. This is another blood-sugar-lowering effect that also prevents the arteries from becoming “clogged” (actually stiffened) with fat
• It also tells your brain that enough food has been eaten and reduces your appetite

All of these effects are extremely beneficial for type 2 diabetics, especially type 2 diabetics who have a weight problem. Together they help reverse insulin resistance, which is the underlying problem for both adult-onset diabetes and weight gain. So do we all have to go out and try to find Astragalus so we can brew some delicious herbal tea?

Right now, the best way to get this herb is to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, who will give you the combination herbs that work best for all of your symptoms. If your blood sugar is particularly high, you may be given a “detox” first and then astragalus.

Professionally dispensed herbal medicine complements your medications prescribed by your GP. It doesn’t replace them. However, the boost you get from taking the right herb could be just what you need along with your medication to keep your blood sugar levels well under control.

Thanks to Beverleigh H Piepers