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Natural folk remedies have
been used for centuries to treat many health problems but modern medicine has
been slow to embrace this ancient knowledge.
In some cases, the natural compounds have been extracted and synthesized
into a more profitable “controlled substance" such as the drug digitalis. While just about everyone has heard of
digitalis for treating heart disease, not everyone knows that it comes from the
common foxglove plant and has been used by folk healers since ancient times.
Another such natural remedy is Bilberry, also known
as the Caucasian Blueberry. This plant grows
at elevations of 3,000 – 5,000 feet in the Caucasian Mountains in the Georgian Republic, part of the former Soviet
Union, and it has long been
used as a treatment for diabetes. Recent
research has identified the two unique compounds in the Bilberry that have such
a beneficial effect on glucose levels and they are chlorogenic and caffeic
acids and their benefits are threefold:
1. They help reduce dietary glucose absorption in the
intestines
2. They help reduce glucose synthesis in the liver, and
3. They speed up the metabolism of glucose
In animal studies, Bilberry
Leaf Extract was shown to reduce glucose levels by up to 26% and harmful blood
triglyceride levels were reduced by 39%.
Similar results were obtained in the subsequent human studies and
included the additional benefit of a reduction in cholesterol levels, all with
no known side effects. These human
studies were conducted on Type II diabetes patients using the gold-standard of
scientific testing, the double-blind placebo controlled method.
But not all Bilberry Leaf
Extract is the same and it’s important to understand the differences. Probably the most significant difference is
the time of harvest and the method of extraction. The beneficial chlorogenic and caffeic acids
found in Bilberry leaves are at their peak during the early spring when
concentrations in the leaves of the plant can reach up to 20% and this is the
best time for harvesting. Later in the
summer, those concentrations drop to as low as 3%, making them far less
effective. Likewise, the method used to
extract the beneficial compounds can greatly affect the efficacy of the end
product. Many manufacturers of vitamins
and nutritional supplements, especially those in the United States, use a heat extraction method which greatly reduces the
benefits of the supplement – think cooked vegetables versus raw
vegetables. In Europe it’s far more common to use a cold extraction method which is more
expensive but has a far less detrimental effect.
In his paper “Caucasian
Blueberry Leaf Extract: The
Phytomedicine for Diabetes" Dr. Zakir Ramazanov sums it up by saying
“The long history of
blueberry leaf extract use in folk medicine and its growing popularity by the informed
public is no longer a scientific mystery. Blueberry leaf extract as a safe,
natural, potent source of critical chlorogenic and caffeic acids has a long and
venerable history and an even more promising future in the long-term care of
diabetics everywhere. Once again, as has
been the case with many other leading health supplements for the last two
decades, science finally, reluctantly, proves the efficacy of what it once not
only ignored but openly denigrated! Yet,
what is profoundly fascinating is how often and how accurately the lore and
legends of folk medicine so often proves to be clinically accurate! ... If
researchers took a more humble and open-minded approach to the potential wisdom
of traditional medicines like blueberry leaf extract, they might accelerate
their understanding and serve the mass acceptance and use of these very real
"cultural treasures"… which in turn could help alleviate and even
prevent the suffering of millions of people around the world from major chronic
diseases such as diabetes in the future.
For more information on this
potentially life-saving natural compound, please visit our website at www.Power2Heal.biz
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