
You can purchase American ginseng online. It may also stimulate your immune system, which could interfere with immunosuppressant drugs ( 6). Precautions: Ginseng can decrease the effectiveness of warfarin, a blood thinner, so avoid this combination. Daily doses higher than 3 grams don’t appear to offer additional benefits ( 6). Taking it: Take 1 gram up to two hours before each main meal - taking it sooner may cause your blood sugar to dip too low. How it works: American ginseng may improve your cells’ response to and increase your body’s secretion of insulin ( 6, 8). May help lower blood sugar by making your cells more responsive to insulin.Īmerican ginseng, a variety grown primarily in North America, has been shown to decrease post-meal blood sugar by about 20% in healthy individuals and those with type 2 diabetes ( 7).Īdditionally, when people with type 2 diabetes took 1 gram of American ginseng 40 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner for two months while maintaining their regular treatment, their fasting blood sugar decreased 10% compared to those on a placebo ( 7). You can find Ceylon cinnamon supplements online. Ceylon cinnamon, on the other hand, is low in coumarin ( 6). Precautions: The common Cassia variety of cinnamon contains more coumarin, a compound that may harm your liver in high amounts. For a regular (non-extract) cinnamon supplement, 500 mg twice a day may be best ( 2, 5). Taking it: The recommended dose of cinnamon extract is 250 mg twice a day before meals. In turn, this allows sugar into your cells, lowering blood sugar ( 4). How it works: Cinnamon may help your body’s cells better respond to insulin.

All participants took the same diabetes drug during the study ( 2). In another three-month study, people with type 2 diabetes who took either 120 or 360 mg of cinnamon extract before breakfast saw an 11% or 14% decrease in fasting blood sugar, respectively, compared to those on a placebo ( 2).Īdditionally, their hemoglobin A1C - a three-month average of blood sugar levels - decreased by 0.67% or 0.92%, respectively. When people with prediabetes - meaning a fasting blood sugar of 100–125 mg/dl - took 250 mg of cinnamon extract before breakfast and dinner for three months, they experienced an 8.4% decrease in fasting blood sugar compared to those on a placebo ( 3). Many studies suggest it helps lower blood sugar and improves diabetes control ( 1, 2). Cinnamon supplements are either made from whole cinnamon powder or an extract.
