Seanol® for Blood Sugar

Seanol® stabilizes blood sugar levels

Two human trials have shown that Seanol® may be effective in lowering blood sugar levels. Pre-diabetic adults who took Seanol® had lower 2-hour post-meal blood sugar levels compared to placebo [1]. Also, adults with high blood cholesterol as well metabolic syndrome had lower HbA1c levels 12 weeks after taking Seanol® [2]. It is possible that Seanol® lowers insulin levels and insulin production after 12 weeks [1]. Both studies found no side-effects.

13 animal studies, including type I and type II diabetes models, have also shown that Seanol® can be beneficial for lowering HbA1c, fasting and post-meal blood sugar levels [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15].

How it works

Seanol® may block an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase, which breaks down carbs into glucose and plays a major role in increasing blood sugar levels [16,13,17]. By inhibiting carbohydrate digestion, Seanol® may prevent sudden spikes in blood sugar.

Diabetic mice were also able to store more glucose in the liver as glycogen [10], which stabilized blood sugar levels. This may be a sign of improved insulin sensitivity.

Insulin sensitivity

Individuals who took Seanol® were found to have lower levels of C-reactive protein, which is associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, atherosclerosis and inflammation [2,18,19]. In diabetic animals, Seanol® lowered fasting blood sugar levels, insulin production as well as insulin resistance levels [4,10,15]. Animals also showed better liver health markers (cholesterol, triglyceride, ALT, AST) with Seanol® [9,10] as well as improved insulin signalling in muscle [15]. One animal experiment showed that Seanol® reduced inflammation to normal levels in the liver after gaining weight from a high-fat diet [20,21]. The results suggest Seanol® may improve the responsiveness to insulin in individuals.

In addition, pancreatic β cells that were given Seanol® produced more insulin [9] and had lower rates of cell death under high glucose conditions [22]. It is possible that Seanol® may help insulin production after pancreatic damage.

Summary

  • Seanol® lowered blood sugar spikes after meals and HbA1c levels in 12 weeks, according to 2 human studies

  • Seanol® may improve insulin sensitivity in the liver and muscles, and restore insulin production in the pancreas

 

Sources:

  1. https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c4fo00940a

  2. https://dx.doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2011.1996

  3. https://dx.doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2017.3295

  4. https://dx.doi.org/10.12691/jfnr-3-10-5

  5. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13880209.2017.1291693

  6. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.02.003

  7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23675258

  8. https://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/439294

  9. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1995-7645(12)60062-5

  10. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2011.12.032

  11. https://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13880209.2011.601464

  12. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2009.11.004

  13. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2010.06.032

  14. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11130-008-0098-4

  15. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2012.12.012

  16. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.03.013

  17. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.3623

  18. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602384

  19. https://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.ATV.0000065636.15310.9C

  20. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf502830b

  21. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hgmx.2016.06.011

  22. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12010-012-9695-7