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Bay leaves improve glucose levels & lipids in T2D

Admittedly the pharmaceutical industry is not going to keen on bay leaves, but after10 years I would have expected to have heard a lot more about this if it worked.
 
Guzzler said:
I use bay regularly in my soups and stews....
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Me too - bay leaves are one of my essential go to herbs, along with a number of other herbs and spices which are supposedly good for diabetics. But I've always used them since I learned to cook many years back and well prior to diabetes diagnosis, so I have no way of telling whether they may have made any difference...

Robbity
 
Do you eat them or is it just the essence of their being in your cooking? Somewhere along the way I think I heard they are not to be ingested, but I think they are ground up in the mix for Mexican sauces.. I love using them but always discard....Cheers/L
 
lindijanice said:
Do you eat them or is it just the essence of their being in your cooking? Somewhere along the way I think I heard they are not to be ingested, but I think they are ground up in the mix for Mexican sauces.. I love using them but always discard....Cheers/L
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We just pick a few fresh, chuck them in the pot and pick them out when serving.
For anyone wishing to try a bay tree is easily grown in a pot or tub and will keep you going in leaves all year round.
 
miahara said:
We just pick a few fresh, chuck them in the pot and pick them out when serving.
For anyone wishing to try a bay tree is easily grown in a pot or tub and will keep you going in leaves all year round.
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Make sure it is Bay Laurel (Lauris nobilis) as all the other laurels, commonly used for hedges, are poisonous.
 
I read somewhere you're supposed to light the things on fire in your kitchen. I forget why, just don't do it in your car or you might get arrested.
 
TheBigNewt said:
I read somewhere you're supposed to light the things on fire in your kitchen. I forget why, just don't do it in your car or you might get arrested.
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I don't think that's bay leaves :p

I have 2 big bay plants in my back garden in pots as far as it goes, a choke risk if you forget to remove them from your cooking, but I cut a load every so often and dry then keep in jars and a couple go in most things I cook :)
 
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Interesting.
We have quite a few small bay tees in pots (and a couple of big ones) but don't use the leaves much in cooking.
I must try to use them more.
 
Is there any difference or advantage in using dried leaves or fresh leaves? My wife uses dried leaves from our tree but only because she's seen dried leaves in the shops and thought that was the best way of using them. I wonder if fresh leaves might not add more to the taste.
 
miahara said:
Is there any difference or advantage in using dried leaves or fresh leaves? My wife uses dried leaves from our tree but only because she's seen dried leaves in the shops and thought that was the best way of using them. I wonder if fresh leaves might not add more to the taste.
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I used a few dried bay leaves in the butchers shop I worked in the UK, when cooking hams up in the boiler. I grabbed a branch off a laurel tree that was near where I lived, and hung it up so the leaves dried out.

I just buy packet stuff nowadays to use when I cook up corned silverside or brisket.
 
miahara said:
Is there any difference or advantage in using dried leaves or fresh leaves? My wife uses dried leaves from our tree but only because she's seen dried leaves in the shops and thought that was the best way of using them. I wonder if fresh leaves might not add more to the taste.
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I 'believe' which means I think I read it once over the flavour comes out more when dry, oxidisation or something....
 
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