Dandelion & Diabetes
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Cyree Jarelle
A black person with brown skin and curly hair to their shoulders. They are frolicking among clouds and dandelion flowers in a brown overshirt, a floral blouse, and jeans.
Dandelion/Taraxacum officinale: Overview
Dandelion is a perennial flowering herb that grows from a long taproot.
Its name has been associated with the Persian tark hashgun, which means wild endive.
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, suggests an origin in the Greek taraxos is more likely. Taraxos is a Greek word for "disorder" and as Rodale's writes, akos means remedy.
This is the relationship that humans have kept with Dandelion. It's abundant, nigh unkillable, and easy to identify. The designation officinale refers to Dandelion's inclusion in early apothecaries. Its earliest written virtues are in the Tang Bencao, written during the Tang dynasty.
Dandelion has a history in Europe and the United States, where it's used to treat diseases of the liver and GI tract.
Dandelion is a bitter stimulant with diuretic and laxative properties.
Unlike other diuretics, dandelion does its work without depleting potassium in the body. This is due to the potassium richness of dandelion itself.
Type 2 Diabetes & Dandelion
Diabetes is an endocrine disorder. It primarily affects the pancreas, an organ in the digestive system found in the upper abdomen. The pancreas produces the hormones to control blood sugar, including insulin, glucagon, peptides, and somatostatin. It also makes enzymes essential to the digestion of food.
Diabetes has many risk factors and symptoms, but all types of diabetes involve insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes is characterized by the pancreas no longer making enough insulin to process sugar in one's diet. This can cause disruptions throughout the body, with notable impacts on the heart, liver, and eyes.
Wirngo et. al published "The Physiological Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) in Type 2 Diabetes" in 2016. There they attribute Dandelion's anti-diabetic properties to its "bioactive chemical components." These include "chicoric acid, taraxasterol (TS), chlorogenic acid, and sesquiterpene lactones," they write.
Wirngo et. al. assert that herbal medicine and other traditional medicines have "demonstrated potential to alleviate diabetic symptoms, enable recovery, and improve health." Dandelion does this by fighting inflammation, which can harm tissues throughout the body.
Dandelion's bitter taste is due to "sesquiterpene lactones." These include "taraxacolide, dihydro-lactucin, ixerin D, taraxinic acids, phenyl propanoids, and ainslioside." These constituents have have anti-inflammatory properties. Dandelion's foundational action as a bitter facilitates proper digestion.
Dandelion is so rich with CGA that it is a viable alternative to proprietary antioxidants. CGA itself is anti-diabetic, and it's best in it's natural form according to Wirngo. It also contains high levels of CRA, which combined with other inulin rich herbs such as Burdock Root and Chicory, helps people metabolize fats better.
When we metabolize fats better, it can decrease our cholesterol. CRA can also make us produce more bile, which breaks down fat and helps flush waste from our livers. CRA is also a strong anti-diabetic.
Bile breaks fat down into fatty acids. Fatty acids provide our bodies with a source of energy. Their presence also impacts the body's response to hormones, including insulin.
In fact, the way our bodies work with fatty acids can be very important for individuals with diabetes. This is because many people with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance. Their bodies may not be able to store fatty acid as easily.
As a result, these fatty acids may deposit in the liver. This can cause Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease, which allopathic doctors cannot treat well. They generally just tell patients to lose weight and lower their cholesterol. (Ask me how I know lol.)
According to Sears and Perry, "90 % of obese type-2 diabetic patients have NAFLD." Even people without diabetes are likely to have NAFLD though, due to poor nutritional options in the United States. They go on to note that researchers expect 50% of Americans to have NAFLD by 2030.
Dandelion is a beautiful medicine for people in this position because it supports the liver and helps lower cholesterol. It does this while also stimulating the metabolism, and aiding digestion. It's highly anti-oxidant and anti-carcinogenic. Dandelion root is also among the vegetables highest in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene becomes Vitamin A in the body.
Vitamin A improves eye function, helps the immune system and keeps our skin healthy. This is essential for people with diabetes, because they are prone to complications with all three, many of them serious.
Dandelion has the potential to ease symptoms of diabetes at low cost.
Specifically, it can lower the cholesterol, which is a major risk factor for the heart and liver complications of type 2 diabetes. This is essential because 80% of people with diabetes live in countries without high incomes.
As Chen et. al report in their article "Income-related inequalities in diagnosed diabetes prevalence among US adults, 2001−2018" the " burden of diabetes falls disproportionately on low-income populations."
In the United States, the people experiencing the strongest correlation between poverty and diabetes are Black and Latina women between the ages of 45-65.
These are the people who have the most to gain from dandelion medicine. It's free in most cases, can be cultivated even in small spaces, and it's cheap. It's identifiable even by children, and abundant nearly everywhere.
Dandelion reduces blood sugar through its caffeic, chicoric, and chlorogenic acid components. It also "effects glucose uptake directly and indirectly" through its "alkaloids, glycosides, amino acids, terpenoids, inorganic ions, steroids, carbohydrates, and galactomannan gum" components.
Importantly, Dandelion has extremely low toxicity.
Medicines that May Interact with Dandelion
If you’re on diabetes medication to lower your blood sugar, it’s possible that dandelion could make your blood sugar too low. Consult a doctor before use. None of this is or should be considered medical advice.
Blood Thinners
Medications used for Blood Pressure
Sedatives
Antibiotics
Diuretics
Lithium
Dandelion Vinegar
Many diabetics avoid alcohol. If you're not into alcohol, try this vinegar! I like to drink one tablespoon before a meal.
Ingredients:
- Fresh dandelion tops
- Fresh dandelion leaves
- Dried dandelion roots
- Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother, if you can get your hands on some)
Prep time: 1 hour
Wait time: 3 weeks
Directions
1. Clean a glass jar of your choice
2. Sterilize the jar with boiling water.
3. Let the jar dry
4. Wash your fresh ingredients so that they are completely free of dirt and bugs.
5. Grind all ingredients down as fine as you can using a clean coffee grinder, clean blender, or a mortar and pestle.
6. Fill cleaned and sterilized jar up halfway with Dandelion parts.
7. Cover Dandelion parts with vinegar, then fill jar up to 1/2-3/4inch from the top with vinegar.
8. Stir and release any air bubbles
9. Top with a plastic cap. If you have no plastic caps, use parchment paper between the metal of the jar top and the rim of the glass jar.
Make sure to date the jar with some duct tape and a marker before storing—it’s easy to forget when it was made. I also like to set a calendar reminder.
10. Let it sit in a cool, dark place for 3 weeks, shaking it every day.
11. Strain into another clean and sterilized, labeled jar.
Works Cited
The Role and Anatomy of the Pancreas. Animated Pancreas Patient. Youtube. September 6, 2013. Accessed January 26, 2024.
Article Source: Income-related inequalities in diagnosed diabetes prevalence among US adults, 2001−2018
Chen Y, Zhou X, Bullard KM, Zhang P, Imperatore G, et al. (2023) Income-related inequalities in diagnosed diabetes prevalence among US adults, 2001−2018. PLOS ONE 18(4): e0283450. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283450
Choi UK, Lee OH, Yim JH, Cho CW, Rhee YK, Lim SI, Kim YC. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) root and leaf on cholesterol-fed rabbits. Int J Mol Sci. 2010 Jan 6;11(1):67-78. doi: 10.3390/ijms11010067. PMID: 20162002; PMCID: PMC2820990.
Fan M, Zhang X, Song H, Zhang Y. Dandelion (Taraxacum Genus): A Review of Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Effects. Molecules. 2023 Jun 27;28(13):5022. doi: 10.3390/molecules28135022. PMID: 37446683; PMCID: PMC10343869.
Gamboa-Gómez CI, Rocha-Guzmán NE, Gallegos-Infante JA, Moreno-Jiménez MR, Vázquez-Cabral BD, González-Laredo RF. Plants with potential use on obesity and its complications. EXCLI J. 2015 Jul 9;14:809-31. doi: 10.17179/excli2015-186. PMID: 26869866; PMCID: PMC4746997.
Kania-Dobrowolska M, Baraniak J. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale L.) as a Source of Biologically Active Compounds Supporting the Therapy of Co-Existing Diseases in Metabolic Syndrome. Foods. 2022 Sep 15;11(18):2858. doi: 10.3390/foods11182858. PMID: 36140985; PMCID: PMC9498421.
Li J, Luo J, Chai Y, Guo Y, Tianzhi Y, Bao Y. Hypoglycemic effect of Taraxacum officinale root extract and its synergism with Radix Astragali extract. Food Sci Nutr. 2021 Feb 26;9(4):2075-2085. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2176. PMID: 33841825; PMCID: PMC8020951.
Li Y, Chen Y, Sun-Waterhouse D. The potential of dandelion in the fight against gastrointestinal diseases: A review. J Ethnopharmacol. 2022 Jul 15;293:115272. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2022.115272. Epub 2022 Apr 8. PMID: 35405251.
Pfingstgraf IO, Taulescu M, Pop RM, Orăsan R, Vlase L, Uifalean A, Todea D, Alexescu T, Toma C, Pârvu AE. Protective Effects of Taraxacum officinale L. (Dandelion) Root Extract in Experimental Acute on Chronic Liver Failure. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Mar 24;10(4):504. doi: 10.3390/antiox10040504. PMID: 33804908; PMCID: PMC8063808.
Sears B, Perry M. The role of fatty acids in insulin resistance. Lipids Health Dis. 2015 Sep 29;14:121. doi: 10.1186/s12944-015-0123-1. PMID: 26415887; PMCID: PMC4587882.
Seo SW, Koo HN, An HJ, Kwon KB, Lim BC, Seo EA, Ryu DG, Moon G, Kim HY, Kim HM, Hong SH. Taraxacum officinale protects against cholecystokinin-induced acute pancreatitis in rats. World J Gastroenterol. 2005 Jan 28;11(4):597-9. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i4.597. PMID: 15641154; PMCID: PMC4250819.
Suo C, Polanski K, Dann E, Lindeboom RGH, Vilarrasa-Blasi R, Vento-Tormo R, Haniffa M, Meyer KB, Dratva LM, Tuong ZK, Clatworthy MR, Teichmann SA. Dandelion uses the single-cell adaptive immune receptor repertoire to explore lymphocyte developmental origins. Nat Biotechnol. 2024 Jan;42(1):40-51. doi: 10.1038/s41587-023-01734-7. Epub 2023 Apr 13. PMID: 37055623; PMCID: PMC10791579.
Wirngo FE, Lambert MN, Jeppesen PB. The Physiological Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) in Type 2 Diabetes. Rev Diabet Stud. 2016 Summer-Fall;13(2-3):113-131. doi: 10.1900/RDS.2016.13.113. Epub 2016 Aug 10. PMID: 28012278; PMCID: PMC5553762.
