Traditional Medicine as a Treatment for Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. It is a serious and costly metabolic disease which is now one of a growing concern in the whole world including the Republic of Palau. There are two main types of diabetes: Type I diabetes and type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). People living with diabetes may have to deal with short-term or long-term complications as a result of their condition. Short-term complications include hypoglycaemia diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS). Long-term complications include how diabetes affects your eyes (retinopathy), heart (cardiovascular disease), kidneys (nephropathy), and nerves and feet (neuropathy). In the islands, T2DM or lifestyle diabetes has been a major cause of injury and low life expectancy. Recent studies in Palau have highlighted some traditional plant based medicine that can treat T2DM by lowering blood sugar. This study has suggested that physical activity along with local medicine will have greater impact to diabetic cure. By using interviews and self-report questionnaires in a sample of adults with T2DM the my study will examine the effectiveness of local medicine and will also discover regular physical activity as the key part of managing diabetic along with proper meal planning, and taking local medicine. In addition, recent clinical mechanistic trials have shown increased insulin and decreased DPP4 levels in human serum after consumption of a local Palauan plant Panacea