Sweet Potato For Type 2

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Sweet Potato for Type 2

An extract from this tuber shows promise in diabetes prevention and

treatment

by Sara Altshul

In the mountainous Kagawa region of Japan, home to olive trees and cuckoo

birds, a white sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) eaten raw has long been a

traditional treatment for anemia, hypertension, and diabetes.

Now marketed in Japan as a food additive for diabetes prevention and

treatment, the tuber extract, called Caiapo, has attracted the attention

of European researchers.

So far, this sweet-potato extract shows promise. In a joint Austrian and

Italian study of 61 people with type 2 diabetes, those who took 4 g of

Caiapo daily for 3 months saw blood sugar drop 15 points--a modest fall

that could allow diabetics to reduce or even quit their blood

sugar-lowering meds. Cholesterol and triglycerides also fell slightly.