Treating Diabetes with Okra

Great for gumbo, modern science is proving it to be just as great for diabetes!

Cardiometabolic diseases include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Diet has been proven to play a crucial role in the development and treatment of these diseases. One promising player is okra.

This systematic review and meta-analysis included 9 studies of dietary okra or okra supplements and included 540 people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.

The results showed that okra significantly reduced total cholesterol, the bad LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c. Improvement in HbA1c is especially promising, since it is the most important marker of long term blood sugar and diabetes control. Okra also led to significant reduction in triglycerides when 3,000mg a day or more of the powder were taken. 3,000mg or more a day of okra powder also significantly increased the heart healthy HDL cholesterol.

This study suggests that okra can benefit diabetes and cardiovascular health. It seems that okra powder supplements taken at a dose of 3,000mg a day for at least 8 weeks are especially effective.

Front. Nutr. Dec 2024;11:doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1454286.

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For much more on natural approaches to preventing and treating diabetes and heart disease, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

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