Diabetes medication, such as insulin, lowers blood sugar levels and helps diabetics regulate the glucose in the system.
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas, which helps people to use the glucose in the blood. Everyone with Type 1 diabetes and some people with Type 2 diabetes need to take insulin to control their blood sugar levels.
But experts have revealed a natural treatment for diabetes could be lurking in the garden.
Nat Hawes, author of Nature Cures, said fig leaves could be the 'cure' for diabetes and help regular blood sugar levels.
"Fig leaves have properties that can help diabetes," she said.
"An additional remedy is to boil four leaves of the fig in some freshly filtered or bottled mineral water and drink this as a tea."
Nat said diabetics need 'less insulin' when using the fig leaf extract.
She advised people to take the extract every day.
"The diabetic should take the extract with breakfast, first thing in the morning," she added.
Experts say diabetic should check with their doctors before they drink fig leaf tea, because it might mean the patient needs less insulin depending on the effectiveness of the remedy.
The fig fruit itself is also a good source of potassium, a nutrient that helps to control blood pressure.
Fig leaves can taste bitter, so some nutritionists recommended drying fig leaves - which can be done at home - and putting them in a food processor to create a powder.
To make tea with the fig leaf fewer put two tablespoons in a literal water and boil it, before straining out the remaining leaves.
A study published in the 1998 issue of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice reported that adding fig leaves to the diet of insulin-dependent diabetics helped control high blood sugar following a meal.
The subjects were divided into two groups.
The group that received a liquid extract of fig leaves, along with breakfast, showed significant reduction in the blood glucose that is typically high after a meal and required less insulin.
The average insulin dose was 12 per cent lower than the other group that received a non-sweet commercial tea.
Diabetes occurs where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly. There are two forms of the condition - Type 1 diabetes and Type 2.
Around one in 10 people with diabetes have Type 1 and it usually affects children or young adults.
Type 1 diabetes means the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. When insulin is not produced a person's glucose levels increase, which can result in the body's organs being damaged.
People living with Type 1 diabetes are reliant on insulin injections and they need to keep a close eye on their blood glucose levels to ensure they stay balanced.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or the insulin produced does not work properly and can be linked to lifestyle factors such as being overweight.
If diabetes is not properly managed it can lead to serious consequences such as sight loss, limb amputation, kidney failure and stroke.
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