Contents:
- Medical Video: Top 7 Superfoods for Diabetics
- Learn about the benefits of broccoli as a natural diabetes medicine
- Sulphoraphane in broccoli is safer than metformin
- How often do you eat broccoli to achieve the effect of being a diabetes medicine?
Medical Video: Top 7 Superfoods for Diabetics
Reporting from the site Gadjah Mada University, WHO estimates that the number of people with diabetes in Indonesia will experience a large increase of up to 21.3 million by the next 2030. Until last year, people with diabetes in Indonesia were known to reach around 10 million people. There are still many Indonesians who don't even realize that they have diabetes.
Diabetes is an "eternal" disease that cannot be cured. But the symptoms can be managed with a healthy lifestyle and medication. One of them with this one natural diabetes drug: broccoli. Yes, for people with diabetes who are also obese, broccoli can be the key to slowing the development of diabetes - potentially even canceling its effects. Why is that?
Learn about the benefits of broccoli as a natural diabetes medicine
Scientists from Gothenburg University in Sweden report that natural chemical compounds found in broccoli, called sulphoraphane, reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
To ensure its effectiveness, lead study author Anders Rosengen and the team divided 97 participants who had diabetes in two groups: the first group was given sulphoraphane extract pills, while the second was given a placebo empty pill. Participants must regularly take this medicine for 3 full months. The result? Blood sugar levels of people taking sulphoraphane pills were found to be reduced by 10 percent. This amount is even enough to reduce the risk of diabetes complications in the eyes, kidneys and blood.
Previously, research on the effect of sulphoraphane on decreasing levels of hyperglycemia (excess blood sugar) had already been applied to culture cells and experimental mice in the lab. Therefore, the research team suspects that sulphoraphane extract can be used as a substitute for the drug metformin, a first-line diabetes drug.
Sulphoraphane in broccoli is safer than metformin
This research shows that metformin and sulphoraphane work to lower blood glucose in different ways. Metformin makes cells sensitive to insulin so that more glucose comes out of the bloodstream, while sulphoraphane helps reduce glucose production.
But Rosengren believes that the extract can replace metformin for those who cannot take the drug. It is known that less than 15 percent of people with type 2 diabetes cannot tolerate the effects of metformin treatment because of the risks associated with kidney damage.
Eating metformin, for sensitive people, can increase the risk of lactic acidosis - an increase in dangerous lactic acid due to decreased kidney work. Lactic acidosis can cause stomach cramps, shortness of breath, cramps / muscle aches, and fatigue.
How often do you eat broccoli to achieve the effect of being a diabetes medicine?
The above research was carried out using the content of sulphoraphane which had been extracted into pills. The concentration of sulphoraphane in one pill used is equivalent to eating around 500 grams of whole broccoli every day. Moreover, this extract was reported to be very effective only among obese people whose blood glucose levels were higher at the start of the study. For those who are not obese, unfortunately sulforaphane pills don't have much effect.
Even though it is impossible to eat 500 kilograms of broccoli in a day, not then you are ignoring a healthy diet to manage your diabetes. Broccoli and other vegetables remain important players in your daily diet. The content of vitamins and minerals in vegetables helps you to meet your body's nutritional needs. Not only that, the high fiber content in vegetables can make you feel full longer, so you are better able to control your appetite and blood sugar.
