Medical: Emulating Emulin: A New Sugar

sometimes, medications. But there is no cure, and over time, even patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for complications from the disease.

Scientists at ATM Metabolics have discovered a compound they call Emulin™, which may help control blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Emulin is derived from select tropical fruits, like grapefruits, pineapples and Muscatine grapes. Researcher, Joe Ahrens, Ph.D. says it’s made by grinding up the whole fruit (peels and all), filtering out the liquid, adjusting the pH and then purifying the final product.

According to ATM Metabolics, Emulin improves control over blood sugar levels in several ways: it reduces the amount of carbohydrates absorbed by the body after eating, reduces the amount of glucose naturally produced by the liver, speeds the removal of sugar from the blood, enhances the removal of carbohydrates from the fat cells and increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

In a study of rats, the animals fed Emulin reduced their fasting blood sugars levels by nearly a third. A small human trial found participants who used Emulin had an 11 percent drop in fasting blood sugar levels. Emulin also appears to enhance the effectiveness of anti-diabetic medications. Those who used Emulin and the drug, metformin, had a 28 percent drop in fasting blood glucose levels.

Researcher Daryl Thompson says Emulin will most likely be used as a food additive in processed foods. More studies need to be done, but he expects the product to be available for food industry use within two years.