Turmeric Improves Impaired Glucose Tolerance

By Kyle J. Norton

Turmeric may be used for the prevention and treatment of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) with no side effects, according to studies.

Impaired glucose tolerance is a condition found in prediabetes and type II diabetes associated with insulin resistance and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

In other words, people with impaired glucose tolerance are less sensitive to the effects of insulin, leading to high blood glucose that is not high enough in the range of diabetes. 

According to epidemiological studies, most people with impaired glucose tolerance are more like to develop diabetes and high blood pressure and cholesterol.

According to the statistics, approximately 11.2% of Americans age between 20-74 have IGT many of them do not know they have it, compared to 6.6% with diabetes.

The exact causes of IGT are unidentified. Some risk factors such as being overweight or obese, family history of diabetes, physical inactivity, high blood pressure or high cholesterol and gestational diabetes are found to induce a substantial risk of IGT.

Some researchers suggested that aging-induced the decrease of production of hormone and reduced function of body organ may have a strong implication to cause the condition developing.

Dr. Ervin Szoke, MD, the lead scientists in the examined the hyperglycemia in a total of 266 individuals with NGT and 130 individuals with IGT, ranging in age from ∼20 to ∼70 years, said, " In people with NGT, the disposition index for first- and second-phase insulin release decreased similarly at a rate of ∼0.7% per year. In people with IGT, the disposition indexes for first- and second-phase insulin release decreased at greater rates (∼2.2 and 1.4% per year, P = 0.002 and 0.009, respectively, vs. NGT), with the decrease in the first phase being greater than that of the second phase (P = 0.025)".

These results suggested that although aging does not correlate to insulin sensitive, it has a significant effect on insulin secretion. Over time, the condition may overwork the β-cell function that increases the risk of IGT.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

Researchers on finding a potential compound for the prevention of diabetes evaluated the effect of turmeric on patients with impaired glucose tolerance.

The study included a review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted with a minimum follow-up period of 6weeks, according to the standard guideline and the Cochrane tool of risk of Bias Tool.

According to the results of the selected trials, curcumin extract intervention showed statistical significance after 3, 6 and 9months on the two-hour fasting plasma glucose.

Curcumin extract injection showed statistical significance in the reduction of glycosylated hemoglobin levels A1c (HbA1c) values after 3, 6 and 9 months.

Furthermore, curcumin extract administration also exerted a statistical significance against insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) after 6months and after 9months.

Compared to the effects of other herbal medicines used in the selected trials, curcumin is effective for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance.

In order to understand more information about curcumin anti-IGT property, researchers conducted a double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in 40 adults affected by impaired fasting glucose (FPG = 100-125 mg/dL) in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

The results of the experiment included 2 weeks of dietary habits correction than patients continued the diet and began a period of 8 weeks of treatment with nutraceutical (combination of Lagerstroemia speciosa, Berberis aristata, Curcuma longa, Alpha-lipoic acid, Chrome picolinate, and Folic acid,) or placebo suggested 

* Nutraceutical treatment showed a significant improvement in TG (-34.7%), HDL-C (+13.7), FPI (-13.4%), and HOMA-Index (-25%) versus the baseline values compared to placebo.

* Both treatments showed no effect on body mass Index, LDL-C and hsCRP.

* No adverse effects were found in neither group.

In other words, the combination improved the IGT by selectively inducing the decrease of certain parameters without affecting the levels of LDL-C.

Taken altogether, turmeric processed a high amount of bioactive compound curcumin used alone or combined with other herbal medicines may be considered supplements for the prevention of  IGT, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of turmeric in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Effects of medicinal food plants on impaired glucose tolerance: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials by Demmers A1, Korthout H2, van Etten-Jamaludin FS3, Kortekaas F4, Maaskant JM. (PubMed)
(2) Nutraceutical Effects on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Patients with Impaired Fasting Glucose: A Pilot, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial on a Combined Product by Cicero AFG1,2, Fogacci F3, Morbini M3, Colletti A3, Bove M3, Veronesi M3, Giovannini M3, Borghi C. (PubMed)