NATURAL REMEDIES FOR DIABETES

Diabetes is one of the commonest diseases in our society today.  It used to be regarded as a disease of the rich and affluent.  But now, it affects even the poor, no thanks to modern civilization and urbanization.

Symptoms of Diabetes

If you do not have the illness called diabetes, then be happy.  And be sure you do all you can to prevent it, for prevention is better than cure.  The symptoms of diabetes are many and varied.  At the earliest stage, diabetes does not show any symptom. In many cases, the disease is diagnosed accidentally when undergoing check-up for other complaints.

The following are some of the symptoms of diabetes: 

1. Poly-urea: This means excessive urination. This constant urination is the commonest sign of diabetes.  Because of the high level of sugar present in the urea, it tastes very sugary.  If you find yourself urinating very frequently, check if your urine is sugary.  Do this by tasting the urea.  If it is sugary, then watch out. This may not be enough proof that you have diabetes, but it may be an indication.
   
2. Polyphagia:  This refers to the excessive hunger often experienced by diabetics.  This abnormal hunger is only a reaction of the body to a lack of glucose, thus starving the body cells.  The patient is tempted to eat more and more.  And yet, the more food the more the glucose level rises
   
3. Polydipsia:  Because of the high quantity of fluids lost through urine, the body experiences dryness of mouth and excessive thirst.  The patient has an intense craving for water and yet is never satisfied.
   
4. Loss of Weight:  Because the cells are starved of glucose the body begins to make use of stored fats so as to nourish the cells. When this continues for a prolonged period of time, the patient begins to lose weight.
   
5. Weakness and Tiredness: It is not only the  fats that are used.  The body also feeds on the proteins in the body, leading to general weakness and tiredness.
   
6. Itching:  Persistent itching all over the body, especially in the genital parts is a symptom of diabetes.  This is true especially of women.  If a woman persistently experiences itching in her vagina, a medical check-up is advisable.
   

Herbal Treatment for Diabetes

In treating diabetes with herbs, the aims are:

• to repair the pancreas
• strengthen the kidney
• eradicate the symptoms
• prevent sugar or glucose from escaping in the urine
• help the body to find its natural balance
  

Points to Note

The following points should be kept in mind when treating diabetes with herbs: 

1. Juvenile diabetes or Insulin dependent diabetes is more difficult to cure than non-insulin dependent diabetes.
   
2. Those who develop maturity onset diabetes at age fifty or above respond more quickly to herbal treatment than those who develop the disease at age thirty or forty.
   
3. It is not recommended that insulin-dependent diabetics stop injecting themselves as soon as they begin herbal treatment. They will need to combine both medications for two weeks after which they will then reduce the volume of Insulin they inject to half its usual volume while they still continue with the herbs.  It is only after four weeks that they can leave aside the Insulin injection but only on the condition that they check their urine and blood from time to time, so as to monitor their sugar levels. Consult a competent herbal scientist.

FORMULA I 

Materials:

1. Cashew stem-bark (half small bucket)
2. 7 green pawpaw leaves
3. 1 medium size pot of bitter leaf
4. 10 bulbs of garlic
5. 10 fingers or pieces of ginger
6. 5 bulbs of onions
7. 10 pods of Capsicum frutescens
   English - African red pepper or bird’s pepper (The tiniest pepper you find in the market. very peppery)
   Igbo - ose oyibo
   Yoruba - ata eiye
   Hausa – barkono
   Esan - Usira
8. 15 pieces of  Xylopia aethiopica
    Igbo - Uda
   Yoruba - Erunje
   Hausa - Kimba
   Esan - Unien
9. 15 litres of water
10. 2 bottles of honey 

Recipe: Boil A to H together in I for 40 minutes.  Allow it to stand for 24 hours before adding J. Stir well. Sieve and store in a container. 

Dosage: One glass 3 times daily for two months