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The Fact and Fancy of Fenugreek: Part Two

© Christine Traxler

By the end of Part I of this article, I wasn't sure what to think of fenugreek. The idea that applying a poultice of ground fenugreek seeds to the chest for breast-size enhancement seemed like shades of quackery to me, even though the idea behind it carried some substance. Nevertheless, I was unable to find solid evidence to back the claims that fenugreek improves breast size.

In this part of the article, we will explore a completely different aspect of fenugreek-one for which scientific evidence of its effectiveness is available.

The seeds of fenugreek contain a gummy substance called mucilage, a gelatinous type of fiber that is not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract when we consume it. Not only doesn't it get absorbed , it has the tendency to soak up a few other things along the way which, in turn, don't get absorbed either and pass through our systems undigested.

It has been suggested that fenugreek holds promise for diabetics. Scientific studies have found that fenugreek blocks the absorption of sugar in the GI tract and therefore reduces sugar levels after meals. Two studies I found demonstrated 20 percent reductions in blood sugar readings after a meal containing fenugreek as compared to a meal without. (I'll explain the downside to this later.)

Similarly, the herb is believed to reduce cholesterol levels although its mechanism of action is a little more complicated. Presumably, a diet rich in fenugreek would be a cheaper way to reduce blood cholesterol than using some of the lipid-lowering medications available today (which have a price tag of about $100 per month).

Some literature claims that fenugreek can be helpful in the management of obesity, the idea being that the mucilage in the seeds can absorb enough calories in the GI tract to promote weight loss. I couldn't find any supporting scientific studies on this and I suspect one would have to eat a lot of fenugreek to see any noticeable effects.

Which brings me to the downside of all of this. In the scientific articles I read, the amount of fenugreek used to achieve blood sugar reductions after meals seemed excessive. One study used 100 grams of the herb per meal. This is almost a quarter pound of fenugreek-so much that they had to specially treat it to remove the bitter taste and then bake the powder into a bread before anyone could eat it. Another study used only 15 grams per meal. They ground up the seeds and made a slurry with water that the subjects drank with their meal (how appetizing!). Similar blood sugar reductions were found in each study.

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