A new massive review of the research establishes that curcumin significantly helps people with diabetes.
An umbrella analysis is comprehensive and is one of the highest levels of evidence.
Curcumin is the active ingredient in the herb turmeric. Recently, an umbrella analysis put together 14 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effect of curcumin and turmeric on diabetes. The analysis included research published between 2015 and 2022.
It showed that curcumin and turmeric significantly improve fasting blood glucose, insulin resistance, and HbA1c. HbA1c is the most important marker of long term blood sugar and diabetes control (PLoS One. 2023;18(7):e0288997).
Now an even larger umbrella analysis has reinforced and expanded this evidence.
This umbrella analysis included 22 meta-analyses published up until January 2024. It found that curcumin significantly improves fasting blood sugar levels, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), HbA1c, and insulin.
The pooled findings show that curcumin can help people with diabetes. It found that the best results were achieved at a dose of at least 1g a day. It also found that curcumin should be taken for at least 10 weeks to achieve most of the benefits found in the study.
Prostaglandins & Other Lipid Mediators. December 2024;175:106908.