Key Findings
There is a large body of evidence that lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise can be effective in the normalization of glucose tolerance and diabetes. In this publication, a systematic review was performed to determine the efficacy and safety of various dietary bioactives for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). In prediabetic overweight or obese men and postmenopausal women, glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly different by treatment in favour of flaxseed. Flaxseed intake decreased glucose and insulin and improved insulin sensitivity as part of a habitual diet in overweight or obese individuals with prediabetes. In twelve RCTs with a total of 1004 subjects, no adverse events were found. However, definitive conclusions could not be made regarding the effects of flaxseed in diabetes due to the overall low quality pf the studies that were assessed.
ABSTRACT:
The objective of this systematic review was to assess available scientific data on the efficacy and safety of medicinal food plants for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance. METHODS: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a minimum follow-up period of 6weeks. The diagnosis was determined by fasting plasma glucose values after two-hour oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT). Two authors independently extracted data and evaluated bias. The Cochrane tool of risk of Bias Tool was used. RESULTS: This review included ten trials. Most studies were highly biased as data were incomplete or reporting was selective. The two-hour fasting plasma glucose after the curcumin extract intervention showed statistical significance after 3, 6 and 9months: p<0.01. Also, glycosylated haemoglobin levels A1c (HbA1c) values after curcumin extract intervention showed statistical significance after 3, 6 and 9months: p<0.01. Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) after curcumin extract intervention showed statistical significance after 6months and after 9months: p<0.05 and p<0.01. CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin has shown the confident results to be effective for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Fenugreek and flaxseed may also be effective, but due to low quality of these studies the results must be interpreted with caution
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