My mom is 60 years old and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 10 years ago. Getting diagnosed with this disease was a difficult thing to process for her. Some of the medicine would lower her blood sugar too much and she would feel dizzy.
Her fingers hurt from checking her blood sugar regularly. Her moods would be all over the place because she was also going through menopause. It was a difficult time for her, but gradually she began to understand the effects of the medication and the patterns of having low blood sugar.
Shortly after she was diagnosed, she visited her family in Mexico where she learned that many of her brother’s and sisters had developed the disease years ago. It wasn’t something they would talk about, ever–but now they had something in common. This is very common among the Hispanic community. People just don’t think it’s important to share their health experiences. When in reality, there’s a lot they can learn from each other.
Like in many other Latin American countries, she learned about a form of alternative medicine. Specifically something called Hoja de Angel or Angel Leaf, which you would drink in the form of loose-leaf tea. One of her sisters swore by it. Her sister had gone to the doctor and had been taking medication, but for some reason her blood sugar was still off the charts. She met with an herbalist and he recommended it to her. After taking the tea, her blood sugar was at the level it was supposed to be. Unfortunately there haven’t been any studies to prove this, other than after she started to take the tea, her blood sugar was normalized.
In the U.S you could find this plant and other teas that help manage your diabetes, especially green tea. Green tea helps sensitize cells enabling allowing them to metabolize sugar. There is also Bilberry tea that is known to be the most effective in lowering blood sugar levels. Sage Tea has also its benefits; it has the ability to boost insulin activity in diabetics.
There are many herbalists that have studied the effects of teas in diabetics. First, check with your doctor to make sure these teas do not interfere with your medication. If you’re taking prescription medicine that helps lower your blood sugar, then these teas might have a dramatic effect to your health that is not always the best option.