Can prediabetes be reversed naturally?

Q: At my last physical, my doctor said I’m showing signs of insulin resistance that could lead to type 2 diabetes. I’ve already cut out sugar and processed foods—are there other diet tweaks that can help?

A: For a tasty way to lower your blood sugar, we suggest incorporating 2 tsp. of sesame seeds or sesame oil into your daily diet. In a study published in the

Journal of Medicinal Food, prediabetic subjects who took a daily sesame seed extract saw a 31% decrease in bloodglucose levels after just six weeks, plus a significant decrease in a key marker of high blood sugar in the long-term. Credit goes to a compound found in sesame seeds and sesame oil (called

sesamin) that helps improve the body’s response to blood sugar–regulating insulin, plus minerals shown to curb blood-sugar spikes.

To get the benefits, sprinkle sesame seeds on salads, blend them into smoothies or bake them into breads or muffins. Or add sesame oil to dressings, marinades or stir-fries.

We suggest sipping 1 to 2 cups of yerba maté tea daily. This earthy brew, made from the leaves of South American holly trees, contains a trio of thermogenic plant compounds (chlorogenic acid, theobromine and theophylline) that turbocharges metabolism and prompts cells to preferentially burn fat for fuel. In fact, Korean researchers found that these effects helped subjects given yerba maté tea shrink their fat stores by 16% in 16 weeks without making any other diet or lifestyle changes. That’s the equivalent of 32 pounds of fat for a 200-pound woman!

What’s more, the plant compounds in yerba maté suppress the output of the hunger hormone ghrelin and improve cells’ sensitivity to the blood sugar–regulating hormone insulin, helping curb appetite and significantly slash calorie intake.