By: Sayer Ji, 09/11/2013
A remarkable human clinical study published in the journal Diabetes Care, the journal of the American Diabetes Association, revealed that turmeric extract was 100% successful at preventing prediabetic patients from becoming diabetic over the course of a 9-month intervention.[1] Performed by Thailand researchers, the study’s primary object was to assess the efficacy of curcumin, the primary polyphenol in turmeric which gives the spice its golden hue, in delaying the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a prediabetic population.
The study design was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial including 240 subjects who met the American Diabetic Association’s criteria for prediabetes. All subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 250 mg of curcuminoid or placebo capsules for 9 months. Type 2 diabetes progression was assessed by measuring a wide range of parameters, including changes in the insulin-producing cells within the pancreas known as β-cells, insulin resistance, and the anti-inflammatory cytokine known as adiponectin, at four different times: baseline, 3-, 6-, and 9-month visits during the course of intervention.
