Caucasian Bilberry and Diabetes

Natural folk remedies have been used for centuries to treat many health problems but modern medicine has been slow to embrace this ancient knowledge. In some cases, the natural compounds have been extracted and synthesized into a more profitable “controlled substance" such as the drug digitalis. While just about everyone has heard of digitalis for treating heart disease, not everyone knows that it comes from the common foxglove plant and has been used by folk healers since ancient times.

Another such natural remedy is Bilberry, also known as the Caucasian Blueberry. This plant grows at elevations of 3,000 – 5,000 feet in the Caucasian Mountains in the Georgian Republic, part of the former Soviet Union, and it has long been used as a treatment for diabetes. Recent research has identified the two unique compounds in the Bilberry that have such a beneficial effect on glucose levels and they are chlorogenic and caffeic acids and their benefits are threefold:

1. They help reduce dietary glucose absorption in the intestines

2. They help reduce glucose synthesis in the liver, and

3. They speed up the metabolism of glucose

In animal studies, Bilberry Leaf Extract was shown to reduce glucose levels by up to 26% and harmful blood triglyceride levels were reduced by 39%. Similar results were obtained in the subsequent human studies and included the additional benefit of a reduction in cholesterol levels, all with no known side effects. These human studies were conducted on Type II diabetes patients using the gold-standard of scientific testing, the double-blind placebo controlled method.

But not all Bilberry Leaf Extract is the same and it’s important to understand the differences. Probably the most significant difference is the time of harvest and the method of extraction. The beneficial chlorogenic and caffeic acids found in Bilberry leaves are at their peak during the early spring when concentrations in the leaves of the plant can reach up to 20% and this is the best time for harvesting. Later in the summer, those concentrations drop to as low as 3%, making them far less effective. Likewise, the method used to extract the beneficial compounds can greatly affect the efficacy of the end product. Many manufacturers of vitamins and nutritional supplements, especially those in the United States, use a heat extraction method which greatly reduces the benefits of the supplement – think cooked vegetables versus raw vegetables. In Europe it’s far more common to use a cold extraction method which is more expensive but has a far less detrimental effect.

In his paper “Caucasian Blueberry Leaf Extract: The Phytomedicine for Diabetes" Dr. Zakir Ramazanov sums it up by saying

“The long history of blueberry leaf extract use in folk medicine and its growing popularity by the informed public is no longer a scientific mystery. Blueberry leaf extract as a safe, natural, potent source of critical chlorogenic and caffeic acids has a long and venerable history and an even more promising future in the long-term care of diabetics everywhere. Once again, as has been the case with many other leading health supplements for the last two decades, science finally, reluctantly, proves the efficacy of what it once not only ignored but openly denigrated! Yet, what is profoundly fascinating is how often and how accurately the lore and legends of folk medicine so often proves to be clinically accurate! ... If researchers took a more humble and open-minded approach to the potential wisdom of traditional medicines like blueberry leaf extract, they might accelerate their understanding and serve the mass acceptance and use of these very real "cultural treasures"… which in turn could help alleviate and even prevent the suffering of millions of people around the world from major chronic diseases such as diabetes in the future.

For more information on this potentially life-saving natural compound, please visit our website at www.Power2Heal.biz