Awaiting clinical review. This page is built from sourced entries but has not yet been signed off by a pharmacist or clinician.
Natural remedies for blood sugar
Direct answer
Nothing here is better than moderate evidence: white mulberry leaf extract lowered the blood sugar rise after a meal in small single-meal trials (rated 3), but those trials were mostly in healthy people and linked to the manufacturer, and over weeks every ingredient rates 2 (limited) or lower for fasting glucose or HbA1c. These are at best small add-ons and never a replacement for diabetes medication or your care plan. The caution that matters most is that several of them may add to diabetes drugs, so ask your prescriber before adding any of them.
Compare the options
Click a column heading to sort.
| Rated for | Typical form & use | Main caution | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White mulberry leaf Morus alba (leaf) | Moderate | Blood sugar after a carbohydrate meal | Leaf extract, 200–250 mg before a meal | Little long-term safety data; ask first if on diabetes drugs | Same night |
| Ginseng Panax ginseng (root) | Limited | Fasting blood sugar | Panax ginseng and related species | May lower blood sugar and disturb sleep | 4+ weeks |
| Holy basil (tulsi) Ocimum tenuiflorum (leaf) | Limited | Blood sugar in type 2 diabetes | Leaf powder, about 2–3 g daily | Long-term safety unstudied; check with diabetes drugs | 4+ weeks |
| Psyllium Plantago ovata (seed husk) | Limited | Blood sugar in type 2 diabetes | Husk powder, about 10 g a day in water | With diabetes, use only under medical supervision | 4+ weeks |
| Spirulina Arthrospira platensis (blue-green algae) | Limited | Fasting blood sugar | Tablet, capsule or powder, 1–10 g daily | Product quality varies; may aggravate autoimmune disease | 4+ weeks |
| Yerba mate Ilex paraguariensis (leaf) | Limited | Blood sugar in prediabetes | Tea or capsules, about 3 g leaf a day | Contains caffeine; drink below 65 °C | 4+ weeks |
| Rooibos Aspalathus linearis (leaf, as tea) | Traditional | Blood sugar | Tea; no dose tested for blood sugar | Rare liver injury case reports | 4+ weeks |
- Rated for
- Blood sugar after a carbohydrate meal
- Form
- Leaf extract, 200–250 mg before a meal
- Onset
- Same night
- Rated for
- Fasting blood sugar
- Form
- Panax ginseng and related species
- Onset
- 4+ weeks
- Rated for
- Blood sugar in type 2 diabetes
- Form
- Leaf powder, about 2–3 g daily
- Onset
- 4+ weeks
- Rated for
- Blood sugar in type 2 diabetes
- Form
- Husk powder, about 10 g a day in water
- Onset
- 4+ weeks
- Rated for
- Fasting blood sugar
- Form
- Tablet, capsule or powder, 1–10 g daily
- Onset
- 4+ weeks
- Rated for
- Blood sugar in prediabetes
- Form
- Tea or capsules, about 3 g leaf a day
- Onset
- 4+ weeks
- Rated for
- Blood sugar
- Form
- Tea; no dose tested for blood sugar
- Onset
- 4+ weeks
Quick picks
Rated 3 for the blood sugar rise after a carbohydrate meal: the glucose rise fell by 30 to 42% in small single-meal trials in healthy adults. Over weeks in people with raised glucose the rating is 2, and a pilot in type 2 diabetes found no HbA1c difference from placebo.
Gentlest optionPsylliumRated 2 for blood sugar in type 2 diabetes: a 2015 meta-analysis reported HbA1c 0.97 percentage points lower, but its authors worked for a psyllium manufacturer. It is a fibre with a strong record for constipation and LDL cholesterol, and it must be taken with plenty of fluid.
Traditional favouriteHoly basil (tulsi)Rated 2 for type 2 diabetes: a 2017 review found ten small trials, mostly 2 to 13 weeks, generally reporting lower glucose, but only about a third of the studies in the review were high quality. It has a long Ayurvedic history and nothing has been studied beyond 13 weeks.
Talk to a doctor first if…
Who should avoid
Pregnancy and breastfeeding are on the avoid list for mulberry, holy basil and ginseng, because no safety data exist or the EU regulator advises against it. Do not take psyllium with difficulty swallowing, a bowel blockage or without plenty of fluid, and people with kidney problems should be cautious with mulberry, since one trial saw a 15% rise in serum creatinine. Yerba mate contains caffeine and should be drunk below 65 °C.
Known interactions
If you take diabetes medication, psyllium may mean your treatment needs adjusting and should only be used under medical supervision (rated 2, caution). Holy basil added to glibenclamide lowered HbA1c and glucose further than the drug alone in a 13-week trial, ginseng may lower blood sugar, and mulberry effects on glucose are described as adding up (all lower-rated, severity 1 or unrated). Ginseng weakened warfarin in one small trial, and psyllium can delay absorption of thyroid hormones and coumarin anticoagulants, so keep doses apart and ask a pharmacist.
Before you reach for an ingredient
Diet, activity and weight changes have far stronger evidence than any ingredient here; talk to your GP or diabetes team before changing your plan.
- Structured lifestyle programmes for people with prediabetes: a 2025 meta-analysis of 31 randomised trials found face-to-face lifestyle interventions cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 46% (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.63) compared with usual care; digital-only programmes had not been shown to work as well (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.01).1
- Combined aerobic and resistance exercise: a 2024 meta-analysis of 20 studies (1,192 people with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity) reported improvements in HbA1c, blood pressure and inflammation markers, although the authors describe the risk of bias as uncertain and the evidence quality as poor.2
Questions people ask
Can herbs lower blood sugar?
A few, by small amounts. White mulberry leaf lowers the rise after a meal in short trials (rated 3), and psyllium fibre may lower HbA1c in people with type 2 diabetes (rated 2), but most trials are small, short or manufacturer-linked. They are not a substitute for diabetes medication.
Can I take these with metformin or other diabetes tablets?
Ask your prescriber or pharmacist first. Psyllium may mean your treatment needs adjusting, and holy basil added to glibenclamide lowered glucose further in one trial, so effects may add together. We found no trial of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) with these herbs, so the size of the risk is unknown.
Does ginseng help with blood sugar?
Slightly at best. A meta-analysis of 16 trials found fasting glucose fell by 0.31 mmol/L, but HbA1c and insulin resistance did not change overall and most trials lasted under 12 weeks (rated 2). NCCIH calls the evidence in diabetes inconclusive.
Is rooibos tea good for diabetes?
There is no evidence it is. We rate rooibos 1 (traditional) for blood sugar, because no human trial we opened tested it in people with diabetes. It is a caffeine-free tea that is widely drunk, but there are rare case reports of liver injury.
Sources
- Meta-analysis Wang Y, Chai X, Wang Y, Yin X, Huang X, Gong Q, Zhang J, Shao R, Li G. Effectiveness of Different Intervention Modes in Lifestyle Intervention for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes and the Reversion to Normoglycemia in Adults With Prediabetes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Med Internet Res. 2025.
- Meta-analysis Al-Mhanna SB, Batrakoulis A, Wan Ghazali WS, et al. Effects of combined aerobic and resistance training on glycemic control, blood pressure, inflammation, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PeerJ. 2024.
- Meta-analysis Cui W, Luo K, Xiao Q, et al. Effect of mulberry leaf or mulberry leaf extract on glycemic traits: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Food Funct. 2023.
- Randomised trial Thondre PS, Lightowler H, Ahlstrom L, Gallagher A. Mulberry leaf extract improves glycaemic response and insulaemic response to sucrose in healthy subjects: results of a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2021.
- Meta-analysis Gibb RD, McRorie JW Jr, Russell DA, Hasselblad V, D'Alessio DA. Psyllium fiber improves glycemic control proportional to loss of glycemic control: a meta-analysis of data in euglycemic subjects, patients at risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and patients being treated for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015.
- Meta-analysis Shishtar E, Sievenpiper JL, Djedovic V, et al. The effect of ginseng (the genus panax) on glycemic control: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. PLoS One. 2014.
- Systematic review Jamshidi N, Cohen MM. The Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Tulsi in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017.
- Meta-analysis Li D, Yue L, Peng X, et al. Yerba Maté and its impact on glycemic control and metabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2025.
Draft, awaiting clinical review