In mid November of 2003, researchers in Canada found that buckwheat may help lower blood glucose for people with diabetes. These findings are based on a study that fed extracts of the buckwheat seed to diabetic rats. Their blood glucose levels were lowered 12 to 19 percent. These results may prove to be very helpful in managing diabetes. Buckwheat is a grain that is inexpensive and easy to find. Because of the results of the study, many people with diabetes might start using the grain as a dietary supplement or part of their daily diet.
“With diabetes on the rise, including buckwheat in the diet could help provide a safe, easy and inexpensive way to lower glucose levels and reduce the risk of complications associated with the disease, including heart, nerve and kidney problems,” says study leader Carla G. Taylor, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba in Canada.
It is not yet known how much buckwheat must be eaten in order for humans to benefit from it. More studies must still be done. What we do know is that we can't argue with the results. The Canadian study involved about 40 that were lacking insulin—a hormone needed to use the body's glucose properly. First, the rats' glucose levels were measured. Then the rats were given either a single dose of buckwheat extract or a placebo—a fake dose, with no affect at all. Their glucose levels were then measured. The glucose levels of the rats that were fed buckwheat extract were 12 to 19 percent lower after meals. The rats that were given the placebo experienced no change in their glucose levels.
Other studies have found chiroinositol to be the main ingredient in buckwheat that lowers blood glucose. Researchers are not exactly sure why or how it works, but they believe that it may make cells better respond to insulin or that it may act like insulin.
Future studies might be able to tell us more about the effects of buckwheat on glucose levels. For now, you can eat the buckwheat grain as a safe and easy addition to your current diabetes management plan.
