Fenfiber and Diabetes

What is Diabetes?

To understand diabetes, it is important to understand how glucose is normally processed in your body. Glucose is vital to your health because it is a major source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. Glucose comes from two main sources: the food you eat and your liver. After you eat, glucose is released into your bloodstream, causing your pancreas to release insulin. This hormone acts to store excess blood glucose in cells such as muscle or fat, lowering the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. Then, as your blood glucose decreases, so does the amount of insulin secreted from your pancreas. Diabetes occurs when your body is unable to metabolize your blood sugar (glucose) properly.

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Prevention

According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes, of which 90% to 95% is type 2 diabetes. And the numbers are continuing to rise, fueled by the escalation of obesity. The American Diabetes Association estimates that one-third of people with diabetes don’t even know they have it, which can lead to multiple complications, including blindness and kidney disease, and may even be life-threatening.
Type 2 diabetes has no cure, but there’s a lot you can do to manage - or even prevent - the condition. Eat healthy foods, get plenty of exercise, and maintain a healthy weight in order to maintain control over your levels of blood glucose.

Prediabetes: A New Phenomenon

An entirely new phenomenon occurring among people today is prediabetes. This condition is a warmup to Type 2 diabetes and is a very real phenomenon. Prediabetes is marked by high or impaired fasting plasma glucose (IFG) or a high or impaired oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). In the prediabetic state, the process of glucose metabolism is starting to work improperly - that is, your cells are becoming resistant to the action of insulin. Glucose begins to build up in your bloodstream, leading to the signs and symptoms of diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association estimates that 11% of people with prediabetes developed type 2 diabetes each year for the three years of the followup study. Other research indicates that most people with prediabetes evolve into full-blown type 2 diabetes within 10 years. The American Diabetes Association, however, states that “progression to diabetes is not inevitable”. If you are prediabetic, you can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. In fact, the American Diabetes Association does not recommend the use of medications in this state but instead recommends “lifestyle intervention”. By increasing your physical activity, eating healthy foods and maintaining a healthy weight, you can prevent or delay diabetes and even return your blood sugar levels to normal.

Fenugreek Fiber and Diabetes

Eating a high fiber diet has long been recommended as a supportive approach for diabetes - it has been shown to blunt the spike in blood glucose that occurs after eating. One of the most beneficial sources of fiber for lowering blood glucose includes oat bran and legumes, one of which is fenugreek.
In humans with type 2 diabetes, fenugreek has a positive effect on both glycemic control and lipid profiles, with a marked drop in fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels, as well as a significant decrease in total serum cholesterol. Encouragingly, very similar drops in fasting blood glucose and serum total cholesterol were also reported for individuals with type 1 diabetes. In fact, researchers have found that those with the most to gain from fenugreek consumption were those with prediabetes or mild cases of type 2 diabetes. After time, these individuals were able to withdraw completely from oral medicines and insulin.