Botanicals for Diabetes Management

The following herbs and botanicals are often recommended in herbal medicine and aromatherapy for managing diabetes. Please see notice below for precautions. The majority of our herbal and botanical recommendations come from the National Geographic Guide to Medicinal Herbs.

Aloe

Aloe gel can help lower blood sugar levels in diabetics.

Bitter Melon

Bitter melon juice has been shown to lower glucose levels.  It can be found in health food stores and Asian food stores.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon has been shown to stabilize blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes and may lower cholesterol levels.

Ginseng

Ginseng may help with fasting glucose levels and in large doses, it may improve hemoglobin A1c tests in people with type 2 diabetes.  American ginseng may reduce blood sugar levels in type 1 diabetes.

Additional Information

Please read the article below for more information:

Herbs, Supplements and Alternative Medicines

Important Notice: Talk to your doctor and/or a qualified herbalist before beginning use of supplements or botanicals. Supplements are botanicals in highly concentrated form and can interfere with other medications and have undesired side effects. The botanicals listed above can cause drowsiness and are likely to impair your ability to drive or operate heavy machinery. We do not recommend taking ANY essential oils internally. The supplement and botanical industry is not well regulated at this time. Ask a trusted source for recommended brands and choose organic options when possible.