Hey everyone
I just recently heard about neem oil and that it will lower insulin resistance. I was reading on webMD that it can lower blood sugar levels in diabetics and to monitor your blood sugar closely while taking it. Anybody tried this? Any luck?
I've only heard of it being used as a "natural" tick repellent for my dog instead of frontline or k9 advantix.
Don't fall for that. I mean lot of natural foods that taste bitter have a tendency to reduce BS. They do this by stoping the sugar being pumped into blood stream by Liver.
This is like treating BS before the advent of insulin.
May not be a good way of reducing BS
My daughter uses it on her horses.
Had to find out what its use is for horses, it is a natural cortisone and is used for itches. Also to improve their coats. As far as my daughter knows it is only for use externally.
I was reading and in India they sometimes use it vaginally as a contraceptive.
I am very leery of claims about herbal and natural supplements, even when they have some history. Neem oil has been used for quite some time in India in Ayurvedic traditions for treating certain conditions (but not primarily diabetes). You will see claims that there is science behind it's effectiveness, but those are widely exaggerated. There may well be some blood lowering action in the use of Neem oil (just like with vinegar), but there are adverse effects, including cautions against the use in pregnant women and children and evidence that neem oil causes liver damage in children.
We often see a barrage of health claims from alternative medicine advocates. In the US, the government has erred on the side of "free choice" (not so in other areas). So you will get all kinds of herbal, supplemental, complementary medicine, and homeopathic claims for things. They will claim "evidence." But it is just not there.
Sadly, Neem oil hits me just like this. People "scamming" me as a diabetic, misleading me about the effectiveness and the evidence.
ps. And while webmd, a generally credible source lists neem oil as being "used for diabetes," that doesn't mean that it recommend's it's use and it says "More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of neem for these uses" and cautions that it is "UNSAFE for children" (their emphasis).
pps. And webmd does say that "there is some evidence" neem oil can cause your blood sugar to drop, it says "bitter melon can lower" blood sugar." Think about the wording.
ppps. I wouldn't recomend bitter melon either.
Good answers all. For use by folks with type 1? I don't think so. If you still want to try it, talk to your doctor first.
Yeah after reading about it I don’t have the desire to try it. I’m Already fairly sensitive to insulin as it is. My wife’s eye dr told her about it so I was just curious if anyone had ever tried it out. Thanks
I've used neem to treat mouth infections (which I used to get very commonly, probably due to poor control) - and it worked fabulously! I took it in capsule form. Can't say there was any dramatic bg effect (though, thinking back, maybe it did help, cause getting bg in control would have benefited the infection I thought I was treating)... alas, I really don't know.
Neem has thousands of uses - now you commonly see it marketed as a natural insecticide (and it is effective).