No, a 30-second ritual will not lower spiked blood sugar levels

Context

Posts circulating on Facebook with tens of thousands of views link to a website that claims that a short 30-second ritual can dramatically reduce blood sugar levels to healthy amounts for those suffering from diabetes. This ritual includes eating barberries, ginseng, or bitter lemon before meals to reduce insulin resistance and excess fat storage.

The website claims that consuming ingredients that contain antioxidants and beneficial nutrients before every meal can lead to reduced blood sugar levels, sudden bursts of energy, and almost immediate weight loss. Dr. Paul O’Connell, the doctor making the claim, has been criticized previously for a misleading claim about arthritis, and his credentials called into question.

In fact

Although barberries, ginseng, and bitter lemon have been shown to aid the reduction of blood sugar levels, it was in studies that took months of observation and were part of a program that included changes in diet, activity level, and other similar life improvements. There is no conclusive evidence that they have direct effectiveness, and such ingredients are only used to manage overall changes. They cannot be taken in isolation without the above-mentioned steps, especially for diabetics, since their symptoms can only be managed with more strict and scientifically proven treatments due to the severity of the condition.

After eating food, the digestive system breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is absorbed into the bloodstream. Foods vary in digestion speed, affecting how quickly blood sugar levels rise. Meals low in fiber but high in refined carbohydrates and sugars cause rapid spikes in blood sugar, leading to hyperglycemia. This prompts the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels by moving glucose into cells for energy and storing excess in the liver, muscles, and fat tissues as energy reserves.

Spikes in blood sugar levels are regular and can occur due to food choices or physical and mental health reasons. People can take advantage of this by consuming vegetables and protein in their meals before the carbohydrates to reduce blood sugar spikes. However, this cannot treat diabetes in isolation, as there is still a need to limit the volume of carbohydrates in a person’s diet, among other treatments.

Sugar levels in the blood will not reduce to normal levels if too little insulin is secreted or there is resistance to insulin’s effects. In people without diabetes, insulin typically brings blood sugar levels back to normal within two hours after eating, not in 30 seconds, as the ritual suggests. If this difficulty in returning to normalized blood sugar levels lasts longer, then, according to the American Diabetes Association, these individuals are susceptible to diabetes and prediabetes. Blood sugar spikes can sometimes cause symptoms like headaches and tinnitus, but many people experience no symptoms. 

Exercise can help lower blood sugar more quickly. Still, it usually takes a few hours for insulin to fully process the excess sugar in the bloodstream, which also refutes the immediate effects of the claim. You can lower blood sugar levels by drinking more water, eating less sugar, and injecting insulin in the more severe cases. However, besides the insulin shot, which takes at least a few hours to take effect, all other methods take weeks to make any noticeable difference.

The verdict

There is no conclusive evidence that the ingredients mentioned in the viral posts have direct effectiveness, and studies on these ingredients included multiple other factors such as lifestyle changes. They cannot be taken in isolation, and insulin takes much longer to process excess sugar in the bloodstream. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.