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NutritionFacts.org Video Podcast

Friday Favorites: The Benefits of Fenugreek for Preventing and Treating Diabetes

NutritionFacts.org Video Podcast

Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM

Nutrition, Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.8951 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2026

⏱️ 4 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The spice fenugreek contains 4-hydroxyisoleucine, a peculiar amino acid that may explain its benefits for controlling blood sugar.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The Spice Fenugreek is considered to be one of humanity's oldest medicinal plants.

0:17.0

What can it do?

0:18.0

In my last video on Fenugreek, I explored the evidence showing it can improve sexual

0:22.3

function in both men and women, decrease menstrual pain, and boost milk production in lactating

0:28.3

mothers.

0:29.3

And what are the side effects?

0:31.2

Fifteen, a randomized controlled trial show, on average, a significant improvement in

0:36.9

cholesterol levels. And a dozen other studies show significant improvement in cholesterol levels.

0:38.3

And a dozen other studies show significant improvements in both long and short-term blood sugar

0:42.5

control and diabetics and pre-diabetics, using an average of about a half teaspoon a day

0:48.3

over a period of an average of two months.

0:51.3

Results clearly indicate that Fenugreek is an inexpensive,

0:55.0

low-risk dietary supplement that has potential to improve blood sugar control in diabetes.

1:00.0

What exactly is the mechanism by which it lowers blood sugars?

1:05.0

There's a peculiar amino acid in Fenugreek that increases insulin release from the pancreas.

1:13.4

The peculiar forhydroxy isylucine has been described as an efficient compound in the

1:19.3

regulation of insulin secretion. Due to the fact that it acts as a secretagogue in the presence

1:24.7

of elevated blood glucose concentrations has been proposed for the potential

1:29.8

treatment of insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity.

1:34.2

Now, there's a class of diabetes drugs that does the same thing, sulfonuria's sold

1:40.9

as like glucotrol, gliburide, micronase, glypozyde.

1:45.0

The problem is that the increased insulin secretion whether you need it or not, and so

...

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