Can I eat ginseng if I have high blood sugar?

If your blood sugar is too high, you must pay attention to correct conditioning and control of blood sugar and follow the doctor's treatment and medication recommendations. Ginseng is actually a nourishing health product that has the effects of nourishing the spleen and lungs, promoting fluid production and relieving cough. It can be eaten by people with high blood sugar and has a certain blood sugar-lowering effect.

1. Ginseng is the root of the perennial herb Panax ginseng of the Araliaceae family. It is sweet, slightly bitter, and slightly warm in nature; it enters the heart, lung, and spleen meridians. It has the functions of greatly replenishing vital energy, nourishing the spleen and lungs, promoting the production of body fluids and quenching thirst, etc. It is the first choice medicine for treating internal injuries caused by deficiency and fatigue. In clinical practice, Chinese medicine is often used to treat serious illnesses such as physical weakness, cold limbs and weak pulse, as well as all symptoms of insufficient qi, blood and body fluids. It is also a commonly used medicine for treating diabetes caused by deficiency of both Qi and Yin.

2. Modern research on traditional Chinese medicine has found that ginseng is rich in ginsenosides, with more than 30 kinds in total. It also contains active ingredients such as ginseng polysaccharides, ginseng polypeptides, ginseng stem and leaf polypeptides, ginseng sesquiterpenes, ginseng, ginseng acid and non-saponin parts of ginseng. Ginseng also contains more than 20 trace elements such as iron, zinc, manganese, copper, as well as vitamins B1, B2, C, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid and other ingredients.

3. In traditional Chinese medicine, diabetes is called "xiaoke disease". The most important diagnosis is insufficient Qi in the body. Ginseng and American ginseng are both traditional Chinese medicines that can replenish vital energy, promote salivation and calm the mind, and can be taken with confidence. Appropriate supplementation can also play a certain auxiliary role in its recovery. However, you cannot take only ginseng or American ginseng as a medicine. It should be combined with Chinese medicine such as asparagus cochinchinensis and Anemarrhena asphodeloides to distinguish between the monarch, minister, assistant and guiding ingredients.

4. Modern pharmacological research has confirmed that total ginsenosides can stimulate experimental animals to release insulin, and ginseng extracts, ginseng polysaccharides, ginseng polypeptides, ginseng stem and leaf polysaccharides, and ginseng non-saponin parts all have the effect of lowering blood sugar. Ginseng extract can lower blood sugar levels, reduce ketone bodies and promote sugar absorption in alloxan-induced diabetes.

5. Ginsenoside Re in ginseng is the main ingredient that lowers blood sugar. The reason why ginsenoside Re can lower blood sugar is that it can enhance the effect of insulin and play an "insulin-like" role, thus explaining the mechanism of ginsenoside Re in lowering blood sugar at a deeper level. They also found that Rb1, another major component of ginseng, has an effect similar to that of an insulin sensitizer, thereby also having the effect of lowering blood sugar.