Chamomile Tea May Lower Blood Glucose and Reduce Damage to Eyes, Nerves, and Kidneys

It's not a panacea. Diet and exercise play a larger role in mitigating complications of diabetes. But if you enjoy tea, or are open to having a cup with meals, choosing one with chamomile may help you manage your diabetes.

A study from the September 10 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reported:¹

"These results clearly suggested that daily consumption of chamomile tea with meals could contribute to the prevention of the progress of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications."

The researchers, from Japan and the United Kingdom, fed a chamomile hot water extract to diabetic mice for 21 days, after which the chamomile-fed rats' blood glucose was found to be 26% lower than that of control diabetic mice. (I can't tell if they measured a fasting glucose. It looks like they did, since they refer to glucose in the blood being derived from liver glycogen. In fact, one of their suggested mechanisms for blood glucose reduction was inhibition of hepatic glycogen breakdown. Indeed, chamomile-fed rats had consistently higher levels of liver glycogen, as did those who received quercetin, one of chamomile's major flavonoid components.)

The enzyme aldose reductase (ALR2) was also found to be inhibited by the chamomile extract. ALR2 converts glucose to sorbitol. In people with diabetes, sorbitol accumulates in greater amounts in cells and has been implicated in the development of cataracts, retinopathy, nerve damage, and kidney damage.

A few related points the study made:

"Chamomile is one of the richest sources of dietary antioxidants. [These compounds] are soluble in hot water, and the amounts obtained from frequent consumption of tea are not negligible."

"There is substantial evidence that these compounds have suppressive activity on oxidative damage to skins, membranes, proteins, and DNA by inhibiting free radical scavenging activity and contribute to protection against chronic health disorders such as atherosclerosis and hypertension."

"A recent study demonstrated that chamomile plant extract suppresses the growth of human cancer cells."

I just added chamomile tea to my shopping list.

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¹ Protective Effects of Dietary Chamomile Tea on Diabetic Complications (HTML - abstract) (PDF - full article)