Buckwheat may help diabetics keep down levels of blood sugar

A nutty, nutrient-packed grain used in making soba noodles and some pancakes may help diabetics control their blood sugar.

Extracts from hulled, ground buckwheat groats (buckwheat kernels stripped of their inedible coatings) lowered blood sugar levels 12% to 19% among rats with Type 1 diabetes, compared with a placebo.

Buckwheat is rich in a chemical called chiro-inositol, which plays a role in the breakdown of sugar. With the new research, scientists have shown that this chemical is the active component responsible for buckwheat’s ability to bring down levels of blood glucose.

Researchers at the University of Manitoba in Canada said their findings suggested that buckwheat could be used as a dietary supplement or functional food to help control Type 1 diabetes, an immune disorder in which the pancreas stops producing insulin. It also may be helpful with the more common Type 2 diabetes, in which the body may still make some insulin.

The report appears in the Dec. 3 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

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Jane E. Allen