Fenugreek

My sister Betty spent the summer with us and we had a great time. Betty has diabetes so she has to keep checking her blood sugar all the time. I am glad that she does this to take care of herself.

Sometime in the middle of the summer, she noticed that her blood sugar was high and she mentioned this to me. I asked what she was going to do about this. She mentioned that she could take a walk and sometimes that brings the blood sugar down but if it didn't then I could give her a shot. Sorry, I don't give shots nor do I take them.

I have been taught that my body is hermetically seals. This means that I have a barrier between my blood and the outside. There is skin everywhere to keep me from being exposed to anything. I bleed out, not in so that my blood supply is protected from contaminates. To purposely put something foreign under my skin, breaking this protective barrier would not be in my best interest.

So the first thing that I did for my sister was to put some powdered Cinnamon into a glass of water. They don't like to mix so it takes a while to get the cinnamon wet. I told her to drink this when it got damp and in the meanwhile I would soak some Fenugreek. I went into my files to show her information about Fenugreek and that it has been known to bring the blood sugar down 54% in a little while. Not sure where that figure came from but I think it was in my notes from the School of Natural Healing.

To our surprise (Because I never had to use this before) after eating the fenugreek seeds, her blood sugar was down to normal. After that she wouldn't go anywhere without it.

The seeds themselves are very hard when dried but after soaking them for a few hours; they are soft and chewy like Millet. They have a grain flavor similar to oat groats or Wheat berries. Not a bad flavor at all. Everywhere that I read about fenugreek, they talk about a bitter taste but I have eaten it many times and have never tasted bitterness. My sister did have some soaking for many days and it got a bad taste so we dumped them and soaked some more.

In one article it did tell about the down side of this herb and that being if you eat too much, one of the many constituents, Sotolone will perfume both your sweat and urine. They will smell like maple syrup or curry, neither of which sounded like a major problem.

Not knowing a lot about this plant, I headed for Wikipedia to learn more about it. It goes by many names in other countries and is used extensively in Europe and Asia. In these countries they treat digestion problems, sinus, lung congestion and infections with this plant. It is also used to reduce inflammation and promote milk production in lactating women.

In Ethiopia and India, it is a natural Diabetic medicine.

I decided to find out what in it is helpful for Diabetes. Checking only the constituents of the seeds in Dr. James A. Duke's Database, I found that Arginine, Chromium, Fiber, Magnesium, Manganese, Niacin, Quercetin and Zinc all had antidiabetic properties. But then even that is a lot for tiny seeds.

Being antidiabetic isn't the only ability that these tiny seeds are capable of doing. There have been two recent studies (Baschel – 2003 and Srinivas- 2005) showing that this plant has major anticancer abilities. I found the seeds to be antioxident, antibacterial, antistress, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and much more…like helping the liver, lowering cholesterol, and triglycerides.

These seeds have been found in many archeological digs and have been carbon dated by to 4000 BC. They are linked to prosperity in the Jewish religion and are eaten at Rosh Hashanah to bring good fortune to the New Year.

If you haven't tried Fenugreek, don't do it because it will keep your blood sugar down but use it as a grain in stews and soups. I read once that where we used to eat a great variety of foods every year, we now eat the same few foods over and over. It is good to add something new to your diet, giving the body more choices and combinations to work from. As you know by the list that I mentioned for Diabetes, there is a lot of nutrition that you will be giving your body with this addition to your food supply. There were also 20 to 30 more things in these seeds that did other things than help with blood sugar.

Enjoy a new food.