The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Benefits of green tea to control blood sugar

    Diabetes-tool-box2-150x150Researchers in Chongqing, People’s Republic of China, evaluated the effect of green tea on glucose control and insulin sensitivity.

    First, the details.

    • 17 studies with data from 1133 people were included in the meta-analysis.
    • Jadad scores were used to assess the quality of the studies-

    And, the results.

    • Drinking green tea significantly reduced the fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c (A1c) concentrations by -0.09 mmol/L and -0.30%, respectively.
      • Blood levels of A1c are used to measure average blood sugar levels over prolonged periods.
    • The best studies, based on high Jadad scores, showed that green tea significantly reduced fasting insulin concentrations (-1.16 ?IU/mL).

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “This meta-analysis suggested that green tea had favorable effects, ie, decreased fasting glucose and A1c concentrations.”

    Most important is the significant reduction in A1c achieved by green tea. Other reviews of CAM options have not been able to show this response consistently.

    7/19/13 14:56 JR

    Comments are closed.