Ayurvedic Medicine Found to Be Effective for Treating Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers have found that some traditional medicines commonly made use of in South Asia are effective for blood sugar level maintenance in individuals with type 2 diabetes.¹

Ayurveda is a traditional medicinal system that’s been made use of for 1000’s of years in several South Asian countries including Nepal and India. Several of the herbs included are also made use of in other countries such as Mexico, China, Iran, and others.

A multi-pronged and individualized approach is utilized for managing health conditions which include Ayurvedic purifying and detoxifying therapies such as Panchakarma, lifestyle modifications such as diet, and Ayurvedic medicines that contain animal, plant, or mineral-origin ingredients, individually or combined.

The researchers carried out an in-depth review to demonstrate that these medicines are effective in controlling blood sugar in type 2 diabetes patients. Other beneficial effects, which included cholesterol, blood pressure, body weight, and other parameters related to diabetes were also found.

This was a comprehensive review of any kind of traditional medicines that included a wide variety of Ayurvedic remedies. The researchers are based in top institutes in Nepal, India, and the UK, and are experts in diabetes, Ayurveda, and this kind of research.

Type 2 diabetes is a complex condition that has significant social, health, and economic consequences and is one of the primary diseases for which Ayurvedic practitioners are consulted.

Other systematic reviews have demonstrated the potential for type 2 diabetes management with these medicines, although many need to be updated and none of them presented a comprehensive summary of all the medicines examined for managing type 2 diabetes.

A range of sources was searched as part of this review, which included 18 electronic databases, with 219 articles that represented 199 randomized controlled studies consisting of 98 Ayurvedic medicines and 21,191 participants.

Some practitioners of Ayurvedic might find the proprietary Ayurvedic remedies and herb extracts included in this review to be a deviation from the classical management style. In reality, many Ayurvedic practitioners however prescribe, and many individuals consume these kinds of medicines.