There are several herbs and supplements touted as being a natural type 2 diabetes treatment.
Some patients with diabetes mellitus prefer to look into natural alternatives before choosing to go on a diabetes medication.
One of the potential natural type 2 diabetes treatments being studied is the coffee bean pill. It shows some promise in its ability to possibly prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.
What is the coffee bean pill?
A coffee bean pill contains green coffee extract. Coffee beans turn green after they’re picked and before they’re roasted (depending on the type of coffee bean). Most of us are used to seeing roasted coffee beans to brew coffee.
Coffee beans contain more chlorogenic acid when they’re unroasted. Chlorogenic acid is a type of polyphenol, a compound that has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help fight the damage that can occur to cells and lead to inflammation, premature aging, and certain cancers.
There are many types of coffee bean pills and extracts on the market. Coffee bean pills aren’t medicinal pills but are actually dietary supplements. Because of this, they aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Claims on supplements and the number of active ingredients they contain, might not always be accurate or based on science.
The coffee beans used in coffee bean pills are usually decaffeinated. Doses of coffee bean extract vary among brands, but a common dose is 800 milligrams of coffee bean extract.
How does it work?
Diets rich in antioxidants such as the kind found in coffee bean pills might help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
One study looked at participants who consumed 400 milligrams of green coffee extract twice daily for eight weeks. They found that these participants had improved blood pressure and fasting blood glucose level.
In addition, study participants who took the coffee bean extract lost almost twice as much weight as those taking the placebo, yet the difference was noted as being “marginally significant”.
Other studies have found that coffee bean extract might promote weight loss. It might have these benefits through reducing fatty acid production and reducing the accumulation of fats in the liver. But those observations were based on animal studies. Weight loss can often improve blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Coffee bean extract may act as a type 2 diabetes treatment by reducing the amount of glucose absorbed in the intestine, as well as stopping the action of enzymes that increase the level of glucose in the blood.
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What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease resulting in insulin resistance and high blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Having type 2 diabetes increases the risk of other chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, which increases the likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke.
Type 2 diabetes is different from type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disorder. However, both types of diabetes have similar symptoms.
There are several known risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including age, family history, race, and lifestyle-related factors like weight and physical activity level. The ultimate goal of treating type 2 diabetes is to control blood glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
Many people with type 2 diabetes inject insulin to help manage blood glucose levels, but other diabetes patients choose to take medications or other type 2 diabetes treatments.
Can it help with type 2 diabetes?
There are scientific studies that explore the possibility of using the coffee bean pill as a type 2 diabetes treatment.
Lowers blood sugar
One study administered coffee bean extract to participants of normal weight and without diabetes. And they found that it lowered blood glucose levels. Participants taking the highest amount of coffee bean extract in that study (400 milligrams) had the largest reduction in blood glucose levels.
This means that coffee bean extract may help people with prediabetes, where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but aren’t high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.
Weight loss
Another study found that administering coffee bean extract over 22 weeks helped participants lose weight. In that study, six participants’ BMI dropped from the “overweight” category to the “normal” range. Participants’ average weight loss was over 10% of their starting body weight.
Weight loss of 5-10% can improve blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus by nearly 60% in people who have prediabetes.
Studies also show coffee bean extract can lower fasting blood sugar levels. However, researchers, in this case, noted that the coffee bean pill didn’t necessarily help improve insulin secretion or insulin resistance, which is the primary cause of type 2 diabetes.
However, yet another review of studies noted that green coffee extract has a hypoglycemic effect while also improving insulin resistance. So it’s safe to say that there are some conflicting results!
Researchers don’t know precisely how coffee bean extract lowers blood sugar. But they think it relates to how the chlorogenic acid in unroasted coffee beans impacts glucose absorption in the intestine.
Improve cholesterol levels
In addition, several animal studies show the potential effect of chlorogenic acid to improve blood glucose levels and lipid levels. Abnormal lipid (cholesterol) levels are common in people with type 2 diabetes and can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Overall, the studies on the efficacy of coffee bean pills as a type 2 diabetes treatment state that we need more research on larger populations to determine if coffee bean pills could be a viable option.
There are promising results on the potential for coffee bean pills to help weight loss and reduce blood sugar levels. Still, the results of studies to date haven’t been consistent enough to warrant the use of a coffee bean pill as a sole type 2 diabetes treatment over FDA-approved diabetes medications.
Are there any safety concerns?
The research on coffee bean extract suggests that the use of coffee bean pills is generally safe. Coffee beans do contain caffeine, though many versions of coffee bean pills are noted as being decaffeinated.
For people sensitive to caffeine, symptoms like a fast heartbeat, feeling jittery, and nausea may arise if they consume caffeine. So they should exercise caution when deciding whether or not to try coffee bean pills.
No current studies suggest coffee bean extract would result in hypoglycemia, a potential side effect for certain diabetes medications. Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar and can occur when taking certain blood glucose-lowering medications, especially insulin.
People with high blood pressure should consult with their healthcare provider before taking supplements with caffeine. This is because caffeine can worsen high blood pressure in some instances.
Other natural treatments for type 2 diabetes
Some people prefer to opt for natural type 2 diabetes treatments instead of taking medications. However, people with very high blood glucose levels whose doctor has advised them to take medication should have an in-depth conversation with their healthcare provider before choosing to take the route of natural type 2 diabetes treatments, as they often don’t have the same proven efficacy.
Other effective and natural type 2 diabetes treatments include lifestyle changes such as diet changes and increasing physical activity. Intensive lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and improve blood glucose levels in people with existing type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle changes can be effective enough on their own to manage gestational diabetes and some instances of type 2 diabetes.
There are other herbs and supplements for type 2 diabetes that may help promote improved blood sugars. These include cinnamon, fenugreek, berberine, and many others.
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Conclusion
There are several studies, both on animals and in human patients, that suggest that the coffee bean pill (green coffee extract) might be an effective and natural type 2 diabetes treatment by helping to improve blood sugar levels.
Some of the ways that the coffee bean pill might help improve blood glucose levels include reducing the amount of glucose absorbed by the intestine and promoting weight loss. The chlorogenic acid in green coffee beans, which acts as an antioxidant and seems to impact glucose metabolism, is thought to provide these potential benefits.
Because of some contradictory study results on the coffee bean pill as a type 2 diabetes treatment, patients with diabetes should always consult with their healthcare provider before trying a supplement to treat their diabetes.
However, for those patients whose healthcare providers give them the green light to try a natural type 2 diabetes treatment, the coffee bean pill shows some promise in its potential benefits, especially in helping to achieve weight loss.
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