Diabetes has been referred to as 'Madhumeh' by Ayurveda. This desease is caused by imbalance of the hormone insulin (which controls the sugar level of blood) that has to be taken externally by a diabetes patient regularly. Ayurvedic therapies recommend many Indian herbs and general practices to improve the secretion of insulin through natural ways. Some of the home and herbal remedies prescribed by Ayurveda are described below.

• Include turmeric and cinnamon in your diets. You can even take one teaspoon of cinnamon daily.
• Soak one teaspoon of fenugreek seeds in 1 cup of water overnight. Drink this water in the morning on an empty stomach and eat the seeds.
• Take a bitter gourd, remove the seeds and saturate in a cup of water. Drain this preparation and drink every morning.
• Boil around fifteen mango leaves in one cup of water. Keep it over night and filter in the morning. Drink every morning on an empty stomach.
• Avoid oily, fried and starchy foodstuffs.
• Avoid coffee, sugar, refined flour and alcohol.
• Eat smaller meals (low fat diet) five to six times a day instead of having three large meals.
• Increase intake of vegetables like spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, sprouts, beans, garlic etc.
• Refrain from taking stress.
• Do regular exercise. Walk for at least 40 minutes a day.
• Avoid red meat and excessive salt in your meals. Fish and soy can be taken due to their good protein value.
• Bitter herbs like Azadirachta Indica (Neem), bitter gourd and fenugreek are like miracle drugs for diabetics. Take them in any form you can.
• Avoid white bread, rice, potatoes, sweet and sugary foods.
• Chew 8-10 curry leaves (Meetha Neem) on an empty stomach. It is very effective for bringing the urine and blood sugar to their normal levels, even in hereditary diabetic patients.
• Emblica officinalis or Indian gooseberry (Amla) is very beneficial for diabetic patients. Prepare a fine powder of dry amala and put this powder in water. Allow it to stand for some time. Then filter the solution and mix some lemon juice in it. Take this early in the morning. You can even use extract of amla easily available in the market.
• Syzygium cumini or Indian plum (Jamun), is considered a panacea for diabetes. Eating this fruit is very beneficial for patients of diabetes. In fact, more than fruit, the seeds of jamun fruit is beneficial when taken in powdered form mixed with some water.
• The holy fruit of India- the bel fruit or the Aegle marmelos has anti-diabetic properties. The herbal extract of its leaves should be taken preferably with a pinch of black pepper.
• Garlic contains allicin that helps in reducing sugar level in blood.
• The leaves of Butea monosperma (Palas) tree are very useful in diabetes. They reduce blood sugar and are useful in glycosuria- the presence of large amount of glucose in urine.
• Tenner’s cassia (Tarwar) is an effective remedy for diabetes. A decoction of the whole plant or bubs is used to treat diabetes. The powder of the herb, mixed with honey, is very effective. Seeds can also be used in the similar manner as flowers.