AYURVEDA FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES
My seven-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and currently has multiple daily insulin injections. I have seen advertisements in India about IME-9 and Deemark Diaba Amrit tablets. Are they good in controlling or even curing diabetes, as they claim?
In type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes) the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow glucose to enter cells to produce energy. In people with type 1 diabetes our misdirected immune system destroys the insulin-producing (islet) cells in the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough insulin. Many herbal drug combinations are being successfully used for the control of hyperglycaemia, especially in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2). As part of continuous research activities in Ayurveda, the CCRAS (Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences) has developed a formulation, namely Ayush-82, for type 2 diabetes. This product has been commercialised by pharmas as Diaba Treat and I-ME9. However, this combination’s effect in treating type 1 is not established.
Insulin replacement therapy, controlling carbohydrate intake, frequent blood sugar monitoring and following a healthy lifestyle is the accepted protocol for the management of type 1 diabetes.
From my clinical experience treating type 1 diabetes I have found that some Ayurvedic medicines demonstrate a reduction in daily insulin needs and an improvement in long-term blood sugar test markers was noticed. I’d rather rely on the traditional and time-tested generic formulations for the treatment of diabetes.
Consult an Ayurvedic doctor for a detailed evaluation of your daughter’s condition. Ayurveda can be an effective complementary medicine in the management of type 1 diabetes.