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There are a variety of botanicals that have some evidence for use in diabetes. They should be used with caution when combined with oral hypoglycemic medication, just as you would in adding another medication, to avoid hypoglycemia. Some of the most commonly-used products are covered in this unit:
Ginseng
Gymnema Sylvestre
Fenugreek
Cinnamon
(French Tart - FT, Herbesdeprovence, Wikimedia Commons. CC: BY 2.0.)
It is always important to consider the source of a particular product, its purity and the similarity to what has been used in clinical trials. For example, a tincture of a particular substance may contain very different compounds to that of a dried herb in a capsule. The specific part of the plant is also important. The easiest way to consider these issues is to know what has been used in trials (or know where to find that information). It is also important to know where to look up specific brands. Natural Medicines is a database that can be found off the Michigan Medicine clinical homepage. Consumer Lab is a subscription website that offers third party information on a variety of products, testing for purity and contents.
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