For thousands of years, Ayurveda has used meshashringi as a treatment for adult-onset diabetes, a condition once described as "honey urine". Meshashringi is a climbing plant that grows in the tropical forests of India and could be just the thing to combat high blood sugar.

Thousands of years ago, type 2 diabetes was treated with meshashringi. The plant's sugar-destroying property was released when a person chewed on one or two leaves. Meshashringi was said to "paralyse" a person's tongue to sweet and bitter tastes. This taste-blocking reaction lasted for several hours. Meshashringi blocked sugar in the digestive system, resulting in a decrease in blood sugar. This is known as a hypoglycemic effect. This action has been studied since the late 1930s.

Recent studies have shown that meshashringi helped control blood sugar levels by stimulating insulin release from the beta cells. Meshashringi enhanced natural insulin production, which was evidenced by an increase in levels of C-peptide. C-peptide is the connecting peptide that is found along the amino acid chains in natural insulin (insulin produced in the islets). When insulin is cleaved apart, the connecting peptide disengages and floats off to preserve and protect the body's cells from microvascular damage resulting in diabetic complications like blindness, kidney disease, and neuropathy.

Another study found that 400 mg a day of meshashringi produced similar results for non insulin-dependent diabetics. Fasting blood glucose, A1c and glycosylated plasma protein were significantly reduced compared to baseline values after 18-20 months of treatment. By the end of the treatment period, cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids and free fatty acid levels were also significantly reduced. It is possible that the blood sugar lowering effects of meshashringi are mediated through their cortisol inhibiting potency. Clinical trials have recorded the benefits of meshashringi in diabetic patients where 400 mg a day reduced insulini requirements by about 50% in insulin-dependent diabetics.

Hello? Did that study say I might be able to cut my daily insulin requirements in HALF? Where on Earth (besides the Saharan terrain of Africa and the jungles of India) can I find this green Goddess? Somebody clear the fog in my head - does India even have jungles? I'm not a Globe-trotter (not yet, anyway). Irrational fear of turbulance.

Here we go round the mulberry bush -- you know the nursery rhyme but did you have any idea how influential the center of attention could be? Well, regardless of Mother Goose, Roman Poets and silkworms staple diet - the mulberry has more to offer than you might think.

Mulberry leaves are reported to lower blood sugar, blood pressure, reduce fever and exhibit anti-inflammatory effects. A study showed the fasting blood sugar of diabetic rats eating a diet with mulberry leaf was reduced by 50% when compared to the diabetic control. The mulberry leaf rats also showed a drop of 30% in their HbA1c. Studies have shown that prolonged intake of mulberry leaves may further reduce HbA1c levels and probably help in achieving better glycemic control. Mulberry leaves also helped control the intracellular balance and reduced the activity of glucogenesis, both telltale signs of uncontrolled diabetes. Glucogenesis is when the body breaks down proteins and fats for glucose.

The mulberry bush should be celebrated. What if drinking a cup of white mulberry tea before a meal could reduce the total sugars absorbed? Researchers in Japan found white mulberry leaves have certain nitrogen-containing sugars (1-deoxynojirimycin) that strongly inhibit the intestinal metabolism of sugars from entering the circulation. Bottom's up for lower post meal numbers.

It's terribly unfair. Your sugar drops. You can feel it. The primitive instincts that do not qualify as being on our best behavior sometimes spill out in the subliminal advertising of a low sugar. When your blood sugar drops to hypoglycemic levels, your body goes into survival mode and only lends energy reserves for the nature of survival-unfortunately social graces and reason do not register high on that list.

dLife has put together a guide to help take the guesswork out of treating a low sugar. Too often we tend to over treat lows and end up on the other side of the 80/120 fence, It's difficult to master the twin deficits: too little sugar or too little insulin. But as Kerri (Six Until Me) points out-there is no such thing as a perfect diabetic...we can only do our best.

With that in mind, dLife suggests a few good ways to treat a low, without going too far. Their Rule of Thumb emphasis the 15 grams per 15 minutes rule. This simply means after consuming 15 grams of a fast acting carbohydrate, wait fifteen minutes before re-testing. If your levels are still too low, repeat and retest. Good sources of fast acting carbohydrates include: Glucose tablets (read packaging for equivalent of 15 grams carb) , sugar-sweetened soda (read packaging), 3 small Smarties rolls , 8 Sweet Tarts, or 1 Tablespoon of honey.