Curry powder is a common ingredient in foods from India, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia. Many people use it on their food because of the distinctive taste, but some research suggests that diabetics can use it to help alleviate their symptoms and delay the progress of this potentially life-threatening condition.
Curry Powder Basics
Curry powder is not a single spice, but rather a melange of several spices in varying proportions. However, the diabetic research for curry powder focuses on the ground leaves of the small curry tree. In addition to using curry in your cooking, you can get herbal supplements of pure extract from these leaves.
Diabetes Basics
Diabetes is a condition where your body is no longer able to process sugar normally. Type I diabetes is when the pancreas can't effectively produce insulin -- the substance your body uses to process blood glucose. Type II diabetes comes from your body developing a resistance to insulin, usually from a diet too rich in sugar for too long. Neither type of diabetes can be cured, but supplements to your diet may be able to alleviate your symptoms.
Curry and Sugar Metabolism
Curry powder may affect the way your body metabolizes sugar and other simple carbohydrates. A 2007 study in "Chemico-biological Interactions" reported that curry extract can stimulate activity in pancreatic beta cells, which produce insulin. Another 2007 study, reported in "International Journal of Biological Chemistry," found that curry improved carbohydrate metabolism -- the main problem experienced by diabetics -- in rats after one month. Though the research on humans is limited, this is hopeful research.
Curry and Antioxidants
Oxidation causes the same kind of damage in human tissue as rust does to metal left out in the rain. Diabetes can increase the oxidative stress on your organs, but antioxidants -- in which curry powder is rich -- can mitigate or decrease this damage. The "Chemico-biological interaction" study suggests that curry and curry powder can help reduce cell death in the pancreas due to diabetes.
Bottom Line
Some studies suggest that curry powder may be a way to reduce the damage to your body caused by diabetes and to alleviate some of the symptoms. However, this research has yet to be proven in clinical trials on humans. Dietary supplements are not subject to the same regulatory burden of proof as drug protocols. Curry powder, like any other dietary supplement, is better considered an adjunct to a diabetes control program -- not a program in and of itself.
References
- "You: The Owner's Manual;" Roizen & Oz; 2007
- Chemico-Biological Interactions: Beneficial Effects of Murraya koenigii Leaves on Antioxidant Defense System and Ultra Structural Changes of Pancreatic β-Cells in Experimental Diabetes in Rats; Arulselvan Palanisamy & Sorimuthu Pillai Subramanian; 2007
- "International Journal of Biological Chemistry": Effect of Murraya Koenigii Leaf Extract on Carbohydrate Metabolism Studied in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats; P. Arulselvan & S. Subramanian; 2007
