Healing Cat and Dog Diabetes With Herbs
Natural herbs have been used over the ages to manage blood-sugar levels in humans without using synthetic insulin. Only recently has cat and dog diabetes become a problem due to lack of exercise combined with popular grain-based foods that have little food value.
Diabetes in both cats and dogs is common in North American pets, with a majority of pet owners turning to natural treatments for pets with diabetes. Natural diabetic treatments for cat and dog diabetes allow owners of pets with diabetes to naturally lower blood glucose levels, reverse insulin resistance, stimulate natural insulin production and avoid painful injections – all without side effects of any consequence.
Four common herbs
The successful treatment of dog diabetes lies in four primary herbs whose beneficial actions have stood the test of time: Turmeric root, Gymnema sylvestre, Bitter Melon, and Fenugreek seeds. Steeped into a tea or as a natural herbal extract, each herb has its own properties to treat cat or dog diabetes and keep the animal in good health while balancing blood-sugar.
Turmeric Root
The leading herb used for treating dog diabetes, turmeric root, is part of the ginger spice family. The herb has a slightly bitter flavor but also a hot peppery flavor with a mustard smell. It is also known as Indian Saffron or Curcuma longa and is native to tropical South Asia.
Turmeric Root plays a major role in combating insulin resistance, inflammation and a reduction in body weight. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, used in India for thousands of years. Turmeric has been used as a general pain reliever, to aid digestion, an antibiotic, a natural antiseptic, and for many years has been known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Numerous health problems respond well to turmeric besides dog diabetes. These include Alzheimer’s Disease, arthritis, colon cancer, cystic fibrosis, inflammation-related obesity, insulin resistance, liver problems, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, rheumatism, and type 2 diabetes.
Gymnema sylvestre
Part of Ayurvedic herbal medicine, Gymnema is nicknamed the “destroyer of sugar.” Chewing on its leaves reduces the taste of sugar in foods that enter the mouth. It originated from the tropical forests of central and western India, Australia and tropical Africa, and has been used as a natural diabetic treatment for close to two millennia.
Only recently has Gymnema sylvestre entered the United States and Europe. Clinical studies show that Gymnema is an effective dog diabetes treatment, reducing blood sugar levels in dogs over time.
Bitter Melon
In 2008, a study by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica gathered four compounds from fresh bitter melon that were found to activate the enzyme AMPK. This is important because the enzyme AMPK is a protein that regulates fuel metabolism and enables glucose uptake to treat both human and dog diabetes with no known side effects.
“We can now understand at a molecular level why bitter melon works as a treatment for diabetes,” said Professor David James, Director of the Diabetes and Obesity Program at Garvan. “By isolating the compounds we believe to be therapeutic, we can investigate how they work together in our cells.”
Bitter melon, also called bitter gourd, is grown in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. It has been a traditional remedy for diabetes mellitus in the Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, lowing blood sugar in type 1 and type 2 diabetes (in its extract form). In addition to dog diabetes, bitter melon is also used for anticancer, antiviral, cardio-protective, constipation, gastrointestinal disease, immunomodulation and as a digestive aid.
Fenugreek Seed
Used as a medicinal herb and a food spice, it is primarily grown in India, with many people eating them like sunflower seeds. More commonly, Fenugreek seeds are used in the famous Curry dishes or sprinkled “to taste” as with salt and pepper.
Used for cat and dog diabetes, and for people, in proper doses fenugreek seeds will reduce active hyperglycemia. Some diabetics report good results soaking the Fenugreek seeds overnight to make a couple cups of morning and evening tea, achieving a drop of 20 to 30 BS points.