What’s the big deal about sage tea and diabetes? I just know that I read somewhere that diabetics use it to control their blood sugar.
I do have type 2 diabetes myself. And I did recently buy The Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage tea.
I don’t see what the big deal is. Couldn’t I just use the spice Sage, perhaps 1 teaspoon to a cup of hot water?
But back to my original question. What is it supposed to do and should I take it now?
:):):):)
There is some evidence that sage can help control blood sugar. I said some - this is NOT definitively proven and the results need more replication.
That said, is it NOT a cure for diabetes.
Nor do you have to consume it as tea - you can also use the sort of sage that you use for cooking, as an example. But do NOT consume sage essential oil - it toxic. Do not use sage essential oil directly on your skin, it is toxic.
Nobody knows what the most effective dose is right now. Nobody knows how much is too much.
If you want to have a cup or two of sage tea a day, and incorporate more sage into your cooking and food, then it MAY have a beneficial effect and help you control your blood sugar better.
I could find no solid information on how sage interacts with common diabetes medications like metformin.
You might also hear similar information about cinnamon helping with diabetes. It might. Again, the research and information is spotty. Again, no solid information on how it interacts with things like metformin.
Bottom line: adding sage into your diet along with other changes in diet, weight control, and so forth might help you better control your diabetes. It will not cure it. And avoid megadoses because anything strong enough to help you is strong enough to hurt you and interactions with medications is unknown.
I am diabetic. I control it (so far, knock wood) through diet. I am reasonably intelligent and have tried to educate myself on how to manage my disease.
This is the first I have heard of sage tea.
I’ve never heard of the sage tea thing either, but what the heck.
Test your blood sugar (you do test, right?), have a cup of sage tea, then test an hour later and two hours later. Do this two or three times a day. Do this routine every day for a week. Then you will have some data. Not *great *data, but something.
The only thing that matters is how any of these blood sugar tips, tricks, remedies work on YOU. And the only way to know that is to test your own blood sugar many times.
For example, in my case, the whole “glycemic index” “whole grains” thing is complete BS. Brown rice and steel cut oats (which I LOVE) send my blood sugar through the roof (over 200 within an hour) just as fast as white rice, or for that matter, sugar cookies. Test everything on yourself.
I’ve had a zillion glucometers over the years. My current one is the best and the cheapest-- it’s $7.00, yes, that’s SEVEN DOLLARS:
Contour Next One Smart Meter, Monitoring System
Test strips are cheap enough that you can test several times a day-- 400 test strips are $132.00.
The meter has a built-in USB connector and you can attach to your computer and get reports and stuff. Very cool.
A slew of plants/herbs/supplements have been traditionally used or touted for effectiveness in lowering blood sugar. A very few have solid scientific backing for reasonable effectiveness as adjunct treatments.
It’s interesting that another member of the Salvia genus (S. nemorosa) has been studied in this regard (evidence of usefulness to date is weak).
I suppose if you added enough sweeteners and other flavors that sage tea might be palatable enough to drink regularly. :dubious:
I’ll just note that the few studies and bits of information I found supporting any efficacy whatsoever for the use of sage in the treatment of diabetes seem to do testing two hours after dosing. You might consider a similar interval for testing.