Chamomile has been used as an herbal tea and as a medicinal cure-all to treat a variety of medical problems including stress, colds, and menstrual cramps.

Scientists recently proposed that the herbal tea might also be beneficial for fighting diabetes, but the theory hasn’t been scientifically tested until now.

Researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom report that drinking chamomile tea daily with meals may help prevent the complications of diabetes, which include loss of vision, nerve damage, and kidney damage.

The findings could lead to the development of a new chamomile-based treatment for type 2 diabetes, which is at epidemic levels in the United States and spreading worldwide.

The researchers fed chamomile extract to a group of diabetic rats for 21 days and compared the results to a group of control animals on a normal diet.

The chamomile-supplemented animals showed a significant decrease in blood glucose levels compared with the controls, they say. The extract also showed significant inhibition of both ALR2 enzymes and sorbitol, whose elevated levels are associated with increased diabetic complications, the scientists say.
References:
1. Kato A, Minoshima Y, Yamamoto J, Adachi I, Watson AA, Nash RJ. Protective effects of dietary chamomile tea on diabetic complications. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 10;56(17):8206-11. PMID: 18681440.
2. Drinking chamomile tea may help fight complications of diabetes. American Chemical Society news Service.
3. Image by deepbluesheep

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