How the Yacon Plant Helps in Treating Diabetes

Yacon is the common name of the plant Smallanthus sonchifolius that was domesticated during the Incan empire in South America as an important food crop. Recently, yacon has become popular in the West as a natural treatment for diabetes. Several scientific studies have examined compounds that are present in the yacon plant and found that it indeed posseses valuable properties that can be beneficial to people suffering from diabetes, a disease that is taking on epidemic proportions in the modern world.

History

• The tuberous root of the yacon plant was grown by the Incans as nutritious food source and is still consumed by modern indigenous people in South America. Both yacon tea, made from the leaves of the plant, and yacon syrup, made from the root, have become popular with diabetics because of the blood-sugar-lowering effects of the tea and the low glycemic index of the sweet syrup.

Yacon Tea

• Tea made from the leaves of the yacon plant is now widely touted on the Internet as an effective way to naturally lower blood sugar for people suffering from diabetes. A Brazilian study published in the July/Sept. 2008 edition of Revista Brasileira de Ciências Farmacêuticas found that an alcohol extraction of yacon leaves was able to reduce glycemia in both diabetic and nondiabetic rats as well as normalize glucose enzymes.

Yacon root

• Yacon root has been found to be one of the highest natural sources of compounds called fructooligosaccharides, which are sugars that are believed to have a healthy effect on blood glucose levels. A Korean study published in the journal Biomolecules & Therapeutics in June 2009 found that yacon root extract significantly reduced blood glucose levels in diabetic rats as well as demonstrated protection from oxidative stress damage on the pancreas.

Yacon Syrup

• Yacon syrup is widely available in health food stores as a natural sweetener that is purported to be less damaging to blood-sugar levels then conventional products such as white sugar. An article published in Clinical Nutrition in April 2009 outlined an Argentinian study of daily consumption of yacon syrup. The researchers observed that the patients' fasting insulin-serum index was reduced; there was also a reduction in body weight and body mass index after 120 days.

Potential

• Yacon shows strong promise as both a food and a medicine for the modern world in a time of decreasing food security and increasing rates of diseases with diet-related factors such as diabetes. Yacon is currently being cultivated in the Czech Republic as an experimental food crop that may provide a high yield and a nutritionally powerful staple for many modern cultures.