The Daily Mail has an article on some research indicating that asparagus (they used asparagus extract in the research) could help control blood-sugar levels. From the article:
To see if asparagus could help, scientists at the University of Karachi in Pakistan injected rats with chemicals to induce a diabetic state, with low levels of insulin and high blood sugar content.
They then treated half with an extract from the asparagus plant and the other half with an established anti-diabetic drug, called glibenclamide.
The rats were fed the asparagus extract in small or large doses every day for 28 days.
Blood tests were then carried out to measure changes in their diabetes.
The results, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed low levels of the asparagus suppressed blood sugar levels but did not improve insulin output.
Only high doses of the extract had a significant effect on insulin production by the pancreas, the organ which releases the hormone into the bloodstream.
The findings support earlier studies highlighting the benefits of asparagus.
One published in the British Medical Journal in 2006 showed asparagus triggered an 81 per cent increase in glucose uptake by the body’s muscles and tissues.
In a report on their findings the University of Karachi researchers said: ‘This study suggests asparagus extract exerts anti-diabetic effects.’
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