When it comes to home remedies, unripe plantain and cocoyam flour have been regarded as staples that lower blood sugar. Now, scientists are elevating the status of cocoyam and unripe plantain from folk medicine status to authentic supplement because of its additional potential to lower high levels of fats, such as cholesterol, in the blood.
New research suggests that cocoyam and unripe plantain ensure low levels of fat in the blood and is helpful in the management of diabetes and its complication.
At the heart of the study, researchers compared the blood sugar and fat lowering effects of unripe plantain with cocoyam in 48 rats with lab develop diabetes.
Twelve days after the rats’ diabetes was induced, respective groups of the rodents were fed equal amounts of cocoyam, unripe plantain for 28 days.
Body weight, feed intake, blood sugar level, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were all measured.
Significant drops in the blood sugar levels of the diabetic rats were noted compared with the non-diabetic rats. Also, blood sugar levels of the diabetic rats fed with cocoyam, unripe plantain, or their combination were significantly lower in comparison with the diabetic rats not provided plantain and cocoyam.
Even more compelling is how the blood sugar levels of the diabetic rats, given cocoyam or unripe plantain feeds, was not significantly altered from the readings of the non-diabetic rats.
Consuming cocoyam, unripe plantain, or their combination resulted in a significant reduction in the formation of fatty deposits in the blood vessels that transport blood away from the heart.
Additionally, the diabetic rats recorded significant reduction of their total fat level, including bad cholesterol, while a significant increase in the level of good cholesterol resulted from consuming cocoyam and unripe plantain compared to diabetic control rats not consuming the combination.
Scientists also noted that cocoyam or unripe plantain helped reduce muscle wasting, suggesting that control over muscle wasting may have resulted from the blood sugar control.
