Diabetes: a plant used by shamans could help
Diabetes treatment is a high priority for health services. But for the moment, the treatments for this chronic disease can only be summed up by injection or, in the most serious cases, by a pancreas transplant.
Researchers are constantly moving towards new techniques or new substances. One of them, from a plant called Ayahuasca , is being studied. This would be able to help in the treatment of diabetes.
How ? Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, USA, found that this plant, specifically its vines, contained harmine. Remember that diabetes occurs with the disappearance of beta cells in our body, resulting in poor regulation of the insulin level produced by the pancreas.
The results of this study, published in March 2015 in the journal Nature Medicine (1) , reveal that harmine * would be able to make beta cells reappear in the body of diabetics. A great step forward, therefore, in the fight against diabetes .
Warning: dangerous product
However, this discovery still poses many problems. Indeed, Ayahuasca is known to be used frequently by the shamans of the Indian tribes of Amazonia, for its psychedelic properties .
The side effects of these vines are not insignificant at all . Indeed, they would cause states of trance and hallucinations. Remember that the effects of LSD are very similar! Ayahuasca is also said to cause vomiting as well as a significant increase in heart rate and blood pressure .
The study researchers are aware of these risks. Andrew Stewart, director of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s Diabetes Institute, said there is still a lot of work to be done before a treatment based on this plant can be brought to market one day. He adds that these results still push for a great advance in the treatment against diabetes.
This plant is already used, rarely, to treat alcoholism or severe anxiety. But let’s not forget that it is still a powerful drug.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.