Camomile tea is often recommended for frayed nerves and to encourage a good night’s sleep but now researchers believe it may also help to manage diabetes and help prevent complications arising from the condition, such as blindness, kidney damage and nerve and circulatory damage.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, looked at the effects of chamomile tea on the health of rats with type 2 diabetes. The rats given an extract similar to chamomile tea saw the amount of sugar in their blood fall by a quarter. The researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales and the University of Toyama in Japan believe that taken with meals each day, the tea may also protect against hyperglycemia – a potentially fatal condition that is caused by high blood sugar levels.

 

As a cup or two of camomile tea a day can be relaxing anyway, it is worth seeing whether it may also help to balance blood sugar levels. Balanced blood sugar levels are crucial for weight management and hormone balance.

 

Chamomile tea is made from fragrant flowers and leaves of the camomile plant which was used for medicinal purposes by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. Today it is often used for relaxation purposes but other studies show that it can also help fight off colds and ease menstrual cramps. Scientists think that the herbal tea can boost the immune system, making it easer to ward off infection.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 1st, 2008 at 4:10 am and is filed under Diabetes, In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.