Moringa and Diabetes: A Superfood for Blood Sugar Management

Dia­betes has become a glo­bal epi­de­mic, affec­ting mil­lions of people world­wide. This chro­nic disease, cha­rac­te­ri­zed by high blood sugar levels, requires constant mana­ge­ment and spe­cial atten­tion to diet. 

Howe­ver, there are natu­ral solu­tions that can help keep blood sugar levels under control. One such solu­tion is morin­ga, a plant wide­ly stu­died for its health bene­fits, inclu­ding its influence on blood sugar levels.

● Moringa: A treasure trove of nutrients

Among the medi­ci­nal plants stu­died for dia­betes, morin­ga stands out for its excep­tio­nal nutri­tio­nal pro­file. Before explo­ring in depth the role of this plant in the mana­ge­ment of this disease, it’s impor­tant to unders­tand what it is and why it’s consi­de­red a superfood.

Morin­ga olei­fe­ra L., also known as the miracle tree, ori­gi­na­ted in India, but now grows in many tro­pi­cal and sub­tro­pi­cal regions of the world, and has recent­ly been culti­va­ted in sou­thern Europe. All parts of this tree, from leaves to roots, have been used for medi­ci­nal pur­poses for centuries.

It’s a nutri­tio­nal powe­rhouse, packed with essen­tial vita­mins such as vita­min A, vita­min C, vita­min E and various B vita­mins. It is also rich in mine­rals such as cal­cium, potas­sium, iron and magne­sium. What’s more, this plant is an excellent source of pro­tein and essen­tial ami­no acids, making it inva­luable for vege­ta­rians and vegans.

But what makes this plant par­ti­cu­lar­ly inter­es­ting for people with dia­betes is its abi­li­ty to regu­late blood sugar levels. Consi­de­red a super­food, it is rich in essen­tial nutrients that sup­port ove­rall health.

● Moringa and Blood Sugar

The rela­tion­ship bet­ween nutri­tion and dia­betes is unde­niable, and this natu­ral sup­ple­ment is posi­tio­ned as a func­tio­nal food in this context. Blood sugar control is faci­li­ta­ted by morin­ga consump­tion, which helps reduce post­pran­dial blood sugar peaks. This die­ta­ry sup­ple­ment has shown pro­mi­sing results in redu­cing insu­lin resis­tance, a com­mon pro­blem in type 2 diabetes.

Seve­ral scien­ti­fic stu­dies have been car­ried out and vali­da­ted by the Euro­pean Health Autho­ri­ties and the Natio­nal Ins­ti­tute of Health (USA) to unders­tand how this natu­ral sup­ple­ment acts on sugar meta­bo­lism in the body. Here are some key mecha­nisms by which morin­ga can help main­tain stable blood sugar levels.

In the face of the hyper­gly­ce­mia epi­de­mic, this plant is pro­ving to be a valuable ally thanks to its natu­ral hypo­gly­ce­mic pro­per­ties. Blood sugar mana­ge­ment is cru­cial for dia­be­tics, and this die­ta­ry sup­ple­ment offers a natu­ral solu­tion for sta­bi­li­zing blood glu­cose levels.

Reduced insulin resistance

Type 2 dia­betes is often asso­cia­ted with insu­lin resis­tance. This condi­tion occurs when cells don’t respond effec­ti­ve­ly to insu­lin, a hor­mone pro­du­ced by the pan­creas that regu­lates blood sugar levels. As a result, glu­cose accu­mu­lates in the blood. Stu­dies have shown that morin­ga can help improve insu­lin sen­si­ti­vi­ty, hel­ping to reduce insu­lin resis­tance. This means that

cells become more recep­tive to insu­lin, enabling glu­cose to be used more efficiently.

Reduced carbohydrate absorption

One of the ways morin­ga helps keep blood sugar levels stable is by redu­cing car­bo­hy­drate absorp­tion. When you eat car­bo­hy­drates, your diges­tive sys­tem breaks them down into glu­cose, which is then absor­bed into the blood­stream. This can lead to blood sugar spikes after meals. This plant has been shown to slow the absorp­tion of car­bo­hy­drates, which can help sta­bi­lize blood sugar levels after meals.

Protection of pancreatic beta cells

The beta cells of the pan­creas play an essen­tial role in regu­la­ting blood sugar levels. They are res­pon­sible for pro­du­cing insu­lin, a hor­mone that enables cells to absorb glu­cose from the blood. In people with type 2 dia­betes, these beta cells can be dama­ged, lea­ding to insuf­fi­cient insu­lin pro­duc­tion. Morin­ga has shown pro­tec­tive pro­per­ties for these cells, which may bene­fit people with hyper­gly­ce­mia by pre­ser­ving their abi­li­ty to pro­duce insulin.

● Practical use

Incor­po­ra­ting morin­ga for health into your diet can contri­bute to bet­ter blood sugar regu­la­tion, a vital aspect in the mana­ge­ment of dia­betes. Now that we unders­tand how it can posi­ti­ve­ly influence blood sugar levels, it’s time to explore how to incor­po­rate this super plant into your diet.

Moringa powder in smoothies

One of the most popu­lar ways to use this plant is in pow­der form. Sim­ply add one or two teas­poons of Morin­ga & Ace­ro­la PREMIUM Pow­der to your mor­ning smoo­thie. This small amount is enough to give you a signi­fi­cant dose of nutrients while hel­ping to sta­bi­lize your blood sugar levels. The taste of the pow­der is slight­ly spi­cy, which adds a plea­sant kick to the foods you add to your favo­rite smoo­thies. Morin­ga­Boost PREMIUM Morin­ga & Ace­ro­la Pow­der also contains ace­ro­la pow­der, adding extra Vita­min C to your breakfast.

Moringa pesto

Mix 1 teas­poon of Morin­ga & Ace­ro­la Morin­ga­Boost PREMIUM Pow­der with 2 tables­poons of extra-vir­gin olive oil, a hand­ful of toas­ted pine nuts, 1 tables­poon of gra­ted Par­me­san, salt and pep­per to taste. Blend and gent­ly pour over your toma­to-moz­za­rel­la, mixed salad or pan-fried greens.

Moringa leaf infusion

Ano­ther way to use this plant is to pre­pare an infusion.

So why not start the day with a Morin­ga­Boost VITALITY infusion?

Based on Morin­ga, Guayu­sa and Cur­cu­ma, it has been crea­ted to pro­vide the antioxi­dants and ener­gy nee­ded to spend a com­for­table, dyna­mic day, streng­the­ning the immune sys­tem and hel­ping to lower blood sugar levels.

A quick remin­der of the pro­per­ties of these three pillars of VITALITY infusion:

Used since the dawn of time in Ayur­ve­dic medi­cine, Morin­ga is rich in pro­tein, potas­sium, vita­min A and antioxi­dants. It also contains 20 ami­no acids, inclu­ding 8 essen­tial ones such as Leu­cine, essen­tial for muscle rebuilding.

Rich in caf­feine, ami­no acids, vita­mins and antioxi­dants, Guayu­sa helps improve concen­tra­tion and boost ener­gy. Guayu­sa contains theo­bro­mine, which helps reduce fatigue and sti­mu­late adre­na­lin, and L‑Theanine, which increases sero­to­nin and dopa­mine production.

These pre­cious ingre­dients are com­ple­men­ted by Tur­me­ric, which contains power­ful antioxi­dants and offers extra­or­di­na­ry anti-inflam­ma­to­ry properties.

Scen­ted with lemon­grass and lemon zest, and swee­te­ned with a light touch of Ste­via, a hot mug in the mor­ning and ano­ther in the ear­ly after­noon will give you the antioxi­dants and ener­gy you need for the whole day!

Tip: infuse 2 teas­poons of Morin­ga­Boost VITALITY infu­sion per 250 ml of water at 80° for 6 minutes.

The result is a light, refre­shing drink that can be an excellent alter­na­tive to tea or cof­fee. This infu­sion can help regu­late blood sugar levels, in addi­tion to pro­vi­ding a heal­thy dose of nutrients.

● Moringa-based dietary supplements

Natu­ral sup­ple­ments for dia­betes are gai­ning in popu­la­ri­ty, and this one is at the top of the list thanks to its bene­fi­cial effects on blood sugar levels.

Depen­ding on sea­so­nal or age-rela­ted needs, Morin­ga sup­ple­ments in cap­sule or gel form are also part of the Morin­ga­Boost brand range. IMMUNE SYSTEM cap­sules, to be taken at the start of win­ter, and SENIORS and MÉNOPAUSE gel sticks are high­ly effec­tive options, appro­ved by the Health Autho­ri­ties, to help you pass these miles­tones serenely.

● Conclusion: Precautions and medical consultation

While morin­ga can be bene­fi­cial for blood sugar mana­ge­ment, it’s essen­tial to talk to your heal­th­care pro­fes­sio­nal before making any signi­fi­cant changes to your diet, espe­cial­ly if you’re alrea­dy taking dia­betes medication. 

This die­ta­ry sup­ple­ment may inter­act with cer­tain medi­ca­tions, which may require you to adjust your treat­ment. Your doc­tor can help you deve­lop a hyper­gly­ce­mia mana­ge­ment plan that incor­po­rates morin­ga safe­ly and effectively.

● References

• Ran­do­mi­zed Control­led Stu­dy: Effect of Morin­ga olei­fe­ra Leaf Cap­sules on Gly­ce­mic Control in The­ra­py-Naïve Type 2 Dia­betes Patients: A Ran­do­mi­zed Pla­ce­bo Control­led Stu­dy — PubMed
• Morin­ga leaf sup­ple­men­ta­tion: Morin­ga olei­fe­ra Leaf Sup­ple­men­ta­tion as a Gly­ce­mic Control Stra­te­gy in Sub­jects with Pre­dia­betes — MDPI
• Review of cur­rent evi­dence: Morin­ga olei­fe­ra and gly­ce­mic control: A review of cur­rent evi­dence and pos­sible mecha­nisms — Wiley Online Library