Herbal Remedy Lowers Diabetes Risk by 41 Percent, Faces Challenges for US Approval

The FDA suggests that “if a supplement promises a cure or quick fix for a health problem, it is probably too good to be true.”

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Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions, with millions of people developing the disease each year. “Safe and effective treatments for preventing type 2 diabetes in persons at high risk for the disease are needed,” Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and chief executive officer of New York City Health and Hospitals, wrote on June 3 in an editor’s note in JAMA Internal Medicine.

What if effective treatments exist, but we lack access to them? A new study from China suggests that Jinlida granules, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, could significantly reduce the risk of diabetes. However, regulatory hurdles make it difficult for such treatments to gain approval and become widely available in the United States.

The Study

The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that Jinlida, a treatment approved for Type 2 diabetes in China composed of 17 herbal ingredients, reduces the risk of developing diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). This condition involves elevated blood sugar levels that have not yet reached the threshold for a diabetes diagnosis. Participants taking Jinlida experienced a 41 percent lower risk of developing diabetes compared with those receiving a placebo.