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21 Aug 2023

Can spices like ginger, fenugreek, black cumin and turmeric help with blood sugar control? How about cinnamon? A collection of Dr Greger videos on the theme:

Ginger

Articles by Dr Greger:

(2023) Can Ginger Help a Diabetic Diet?

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2022) Is Ginger Beneficial in a Diabetic Diet?

(4 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Ground ginger and ginger tea are put to the test for blood sugar control."

At offset 0:20 of this video, there is a reference to Table 2 of this paper: Successful Management of Type 2 Diabetes with Lifestyle Intervention: A Case Report by Liebhauser et al, Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2014;84(3-4):133-9. Table 2 has an interesting list of foods known to lower blood glucose levels:

Fenugreek

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2022) The Benefits of Fenugreek for Preventing and Treating Diabetes

(4 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "The spice fenugreek contains 4-hydroxyisoleucine, a peculiar amino acid that may explain its benefits for controlling blood sugar."

Black Cumin (Nigella Sativa)

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2021) Benefits of Black Cumin Seed (Nigella Sativa) for Weight Loss

(3 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "For three cents a day, black cumin may improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar control, as well as accelerate the loss of body fat."

Cinnamon

Articles by Dr Greger:

Cinnamon. Excerpts:

There are two main types: Ceylon and cassia, also known as Chinese cinnamon. In the United States, anything simply labeled “cinnamon” is probably the less-expensive cassia. Unfortunately, cassia contains coumarin, a compound that may be toxic to the liver at high doses. Unless it’s specifically labeled “Ceylon cinnamon,” a quarter teaspoon even a few times a week may be too much for small children and a daily teaspoon would exceed the tolerable upper safety limit for adults. Does switching to Ceylon give the benefits without the risks?

Nearly all the studies showing blood sugar benefits of cinnamon have been performed with cassia. When researchers used Ceylon instead, the nice blunting of blood sugars seen in response to cassia disappeared. In fact, the toxic coumarin itself may have been the active blood-sugar-lowering ingredient in the cassia cinnamon. Thus, sidestepping the toxin by switching to Ceylon may sidestep the benefit. When it comes to lowering blood sugars, cinnamon may not be safe (cassia), or it may be safe but apparently not effective in reducing blood sugar (Ceylon). I still encourage Ceylon cinnamon consumption, given that it is one of the cheapest common food sources of antioxidants.
(2013) Cinnamon for Diabetes — fascinating discussion! Worth reading to get clarity on cinnamon for diabetes. Excerpt:

So should we just give up on going out of our way to add cinnamon to our diet? No, I think it’s still a good idea to shoot for a teaspoon a day of Ceylon cinnamon since there are a bunch of other benefits linked to cinnamon besides blood sugar control, not the least of which is it’s potent antioxidant content (as I show in my one of my favorite videos Antioxidants in a Pinch). In my Superfood Bargains video, where I rank foods in terms of antioxidants per unit cost, cinnamon comes out as one of the cheapest food sources of antioxidants, beating out cloves and coming in just under purple cabbage.

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2012) The Safer Cinnamon

(2 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "There are four common types of cinnamon: Vietnamese, Chinese (cassia), Indonesian, and Ceylon (true) cinnamon. Which is safest in terms of the level of coumarin, which may damage the liver at toxic doses?"

(2013) Update on Cinnamon for Blood Sugar Control

(5 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Cinnamon can no longer be considered a safe and effective treatment for diabetes."

Turmeric

Articles by Dr Greger:

(2018) The Spice Proven to Benefit Prediabetes

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2016) Turmeric Curcumin for Prediabetes

(3 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial on the use of the turmeric pigment curcumin to prevent diabetes in prediabetics is published with extraordinary results."

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