How Cordyceps Militaris helps in controlling diabetes

Today diabetes is a known disease for about 25.8 million women, men and children in the world. Of this number, 7 million have still not been diagnosed, and about 80 million persons show symptoms of prediabetes. The disease is more common in males than in females, and increases at a drastic pace with age. Statistics claim that more than 25% of individuals aged more than 65 years are affected by diabetes. Not only is it very common, but treatment is also on the expensive side.

Factors that cause risk

If one considers avoiding diabetes as a whole, it is probably next to impossible. That being said, a fair number of changes can be made to regular lifestyles in order to reduce the chances of contraction. These include:

• Changes to diet
• Regular exercise
• Cut out smoking and drinking, with alcohol only in moderation

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes have been proven to be hereditary. Type 1 seems to get active upon viral infection. Type 2 is strongly related with genes, and people with Type 2 relatives are quite likely to contract the same.

Now as mentioned above, diet is one of the ways to control diabetes. Consumption of the fungus Cordyceps Militaris can be a saving agent, as clinical trials on both humans and animals have shown its potential of regulating blood sugar. [1] In a particular study, one group that received 3 grams of the fungus per day showed better regulation of blood sugar as compared to another group that was given conventional treatment. 95% of the first group showed improvement in blood sugar, as compared to just 54% in the latter.

A fair number of animal trials have shown that Cordyceps Militaris enhances insulin sensitivity, improves metabolism of blood glucose, and also increases the liver’s output of the glucose-regulating enzymes hexokinase and glucokinase. [2] Cs-4 from Cordyceps Militaris enhances glucose metabolism and brings up insulin sensitivity amongst normal rats.

References

[1] Guo QC, Zhang C. (1995) Clinical Observations of Adjunctive Treatment of 20 Diabetic Patients with JinSHuiBao Capsule. J Administration Traditional Chinese Medicine 1995:5(suppl):22

[2] (Zhao CS. et al. J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Aug;8(4):403-5; Kiho T. et al. Hypoglycemic activity of a polysaccharide (CS-F30) from the cultural mycelium of Cordycep Militaris sinensis and its effect on glucose metabolism in mouse liver. Phytother Res 2000 Dec;14(8):647-9; Tai-Hao, H. et al. Biological activity of Cordycep Militaris (Fr.) Link Species (Ascomycetes) Derived from a Natural Source and from Fermented Mycelia on Diabetes in STZ-Induced Rats. Inter J of Med Mush 4; 111-125