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Type 2 Diabetes: Do Bay Leaves Help Lower Blood Sugar?

One of the most effective ways to control type 2 diabetes is to keep blood sugar levels as even as possible. It’s normal for blood sugar levels to rise after a meal or snack, but it’s best to keep the spike to a minimum. According to August 2017 Journal of the American College of Nursing, incorporating a few bay leaves into the cookie mixture when baking will help to do this.

Researchers from the Peshawar University of Agriculture in Pakistan and Curtin University in Perth, Australia, had twenty volunteers eat…

  • cookies made with 100 percent wheat flour,
  • crackers containing 3 percent bay leaf, or
  • Cookies containing 6 percent bay leaf.

The participants who ate the cookies containing 6 percent bay leaf had the lowest increases in blood sugar. Appetite, unfortunately, was not affected.

Previous studies showed that people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who consumed bay leaves had less…

  • fasting blood sugar,
  • blood fats and
  • Total cholesterol readings.

Bay leaves come from the sweet laurel, a member of the laurel family…

  • trees grow near the Mediterranean.
  • bay leaf wreaths were given to athletes as rewards for winning competitions in Greece, and
  • the leaves are used to flavor many recipes, especially in Greece and Turkey.

Bay leaf powder, as well as whole bay leaves, are commercially available. A quick Google search will reveal several brands.

The leaves or powder can be used in any flavorful recipe that contains liquid. (If using whole leaves, remove before serving as they are stiff and may cause a choking sensation or abdominal pain.) Try them in soups, tomato sauce, or vegetable stew.

Allrecipes.com suggests making vegetable broth with bay leaves. Other ingredients include…

  • onion,
  • celery,
  • carrots,
  • Garlic,
  • fresh parsley,
  • thyme, and
  • Water.

Also from Allrecipes.com comes a recipe for Vegetarian Bay Leaf Chili.. Other ingredients include…

  • shredded vegetables,
  • black Beans,
  • Red beans,
  • light Red Kidney Beans,
  • chopped tomatoes,
  • tomato juice,
  • onions,
  • Chilli powder,
  • ground cumin,
  • garlic powder and
  • Pepper.

Or try the pumpkin soup. Will need…

  • pumpkin puree,
  • Vegetables soup,
  • bay powder,
  • ginger
  • Rosemary.

Or search the internet for one of the many pumpkin soup recipes that include bay leaf. Some bay leaves are edible, while others are not, so don’t pick them unless you’re sure they’re safe. Buying cultivated bay leaves to include in food avoids any risk.

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