(ORDO NEWS) — It turned out that some medicines used in Ayurveda – the traditional system of medicine in South Asia – help maintain blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. In addition, these drugs can reduce body weight, stabilize blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham (UK) have concluded that several medicines used in Ayurveda are effective in treating patients with type 2 diabetes.
Ayurveda is a traditional system of alternative medicine that has been used for thousands of years in many South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. Some of the studied drugs are used in other parts of the world, including Iran, China and Mexico.
Ayurveda includes not only the use of medicines containing ingredients of plant, animal or mineral origin, but also lifestyle changes such as diet and various methods of detoxification and cleansing of the body.
However, in a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, the researchers only assessed the effect of the drugs.
In total, the authors studied 98 Ayurvedic preparations. It turned out that they are able to control sugar levels, reduce body weight, stabilize blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which is also important for patients with diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease with serious medical, social and economic consequences. For this disease, patients from Asian countries most often turn to Ayurvedic practices – as a rule, because this system corresponds to their ideas about health and culture.
Such practices are especially widespread among the rural, poor, elderly and indigenous population. Many patients with type 2 diabetes choose not to use Western medicines due to side effects, high cost, and route of administration (they are mostly injectable).
Previous systematic studies of the potential of Ayurveda for the treatment of type 2 diabetes have not provided an exhaustive description of the influence and effect of all traditional medicines used to treat this disease. The new work was the first review of this magnitude.
In the future, scientists plan to continue research in this area to strengthen the evidence base and conduct repeated tests. While some traditional medicines may indeed work, the authors say, doctors’ advice should not be neglected.
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