Diabetes: Cloves, Glucose

Diabetes: Cloves, Glucose

Diabetes: Cloves improve glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) have been shown to improve insulin function in vitro but the effects on people have not been determined. The objective of this study was to determine if cloves may be important in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Thirty-six people, with type 2 diabetes mellitus were divided into 4 groups and given capsules containing 0, 1, 2 or 3 grams of cloves/day for 30 days followed by a 10 day washout period. Since the responses to the three levels of cloves were not significantly different, the three groups were combined.

* Serum glucose decreased from 225 [plus/minus] 67 to 150 [plus/minus] 46 mg/dL [-33%],

* triglycerides decreased from 235 [plus/minus] 63 mg/dL to 203 [plus/minus] 86 mg/dL [-13%],

* serum total cholesterol decreased from 273 [plus/minus] 78 mg/dL to 239 [plus/minus] 47 mg/dL [-12%], and

* LDL decreased from 175 [plus/minus] 73 mg/dL to 145 [plus/minus] 44 mg/dL [-17%] after 30 days.

Serum HDL was not affected by the intake of cloves.

Following the 10 days of not consuming cloves, glucose, triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol were all still significantly lower than at the onset of the study. There were no significant changes in the placebo group.

In summary, consumption of capsules containing 1, 2 or 3 grams of cloves/day for 30 days decreased risk factors of diabetes including glucose, triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol with no changes in HDL concentrations. There were no significant differences among the 3 levels of cloves tested. These data suggest that intake of 1 to 3 grams of cloves per day is beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes.

This project was financially supported by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Source: Khan, Alam, et al., "Cloves improve glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus," Program/Abstract # 640.5, http://www.eb2006-online.com/pdfs/001253.PDF.
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Technorati tags: diabetes, overcome diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, cloves, insulin, diabetes cloves.


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