Exciting New Natural Help for Diabetics

This little talked about herb is building an impressive resume for diabetes.

Several studies have now shown the fruit, leaf and twigs of mulberry to help people with diabetes. Now, yet another study has added to the accumulating evidence.

Improving glycemic control is a key to managing diabetes. Slowing the digestion of carbohydrates helps manage glycemic control. Mulberry contains components that slow the final step in the digestion of carbohydrates and reduce the rate of glucose uptake.

This new study used mulberry fruit extract. 24 unmedicated type 2 diabetics were given either nothing or .75g of mulberry fruit extract added to carbohydrates.

Compared to the control group, the mulberry group reduced blood sugar 2 hours after eating by 22.4%. It reduced insulin after eating by 17.5%.

This small study adds to the evidence that supplementing mulberry safely helps manage glucose and can help diabetics.

Nutrients 2024 Jul;16(14):2177

 

Help for Teens with Depression Could Come from Vitamin D

Depression is common and potentially debilitating. Teen depression is a serious mental health problem. A safe, effective, affordable and natural treatment could offer a lot of help to a lot of young people. New research is pointing to vitamin D as part of that help.

There are many possible contributing causes to depression and many ways vitamin D might help. Vitamin D is vital for neurotransmitter regulation. It helps prevent depletion of dopamine and serotonin. Vitamin D is also an anti-inflammatory that can hold back the inflammatory cytokines that are now known to be associated with depression.

Low levels of vitamin D are associated with depression (Br J Psychiatry. 2013 Feb;202:100-7). People with vitamin D deficiency are 4.7 times more likely to suffer from depression than people with sufficient levels of vitamin D. And the lower the levels of vitamin D, the worse the severity of the depression (Ind Psychiatry J. 2023 Jan-Jun;32(1):100–105).

Supplementing vitamin D can help, according toa 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of 41 controlled studies (J Clin Nutr. 2022;nqac107).

In 2023, researchers conducted an umbrella meta-analysis, which means that they did a meta-analysis of all the existing meta-analyses. Meta-analysis of 4 meta-analyses found that people with lower vitamin D are at increased risk of depression. Meta-analysis of 10 meta-analyses found that, compared to placebo, vitamin D significantly improves depression (Pharmacol Res. 2023 Jan:187:106605).

Now a new study has shown that vitamin D can help adolescents with depression. The study gave either 2250 IU of vitamin D a day or 250 IU of vitamin D plus 500mg of calcium to depressed teenagers for nine weeks.

The vitamin D group, but not the low dose vitamin D control group, had significantly improved scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and the improvement in depression scores was significantly greater in the vitamin D group.

This study adds to the evidence that vitamin D may have an important role to play in the treatment of depression and adds the valuable new evidence that it may also specifically help teenagers struggling with depression.

Nutrients. 2024 Jun;16(12):1828.

 

Garlic for Blood Pressure & Cholesterol

This systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 controlled studies included many forms of garlic, including powder, aged garlic extract, enteric coated garlic, garlic oil and raw garlic.

It found that garlic significantly improves fasting blood glucose and HbA1c, the most important marker of long term blood sugar and diabetes control. Garlic also significantly lowered the bad LDL cholesterol, significantly raised the good HDL cholesterol, and significantly improved total cholesterol.

This new meta-analysis adds to the ever growing body of evidence that garlic benefits blood sugar and cholesterol.

Nutrients. 2024;16(11):1692.