Are you hesitant to include fennel in formulas for clients managing diabetes? In this quick clinical breakdown, we look past the generic safety warnings to understand what the data actually shows about fennel, insulin resistance, and blood sugar regulation

In this episode, I discuss a recent systematic review on herbal use in type 2 diabetes. Imagine my surprise when I saw fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) listed as one of eight herbs that the authors consider contraindicated in T2D. I share reflections on how this seems to be a misunderstanding based on unfamiliarity with herbal medicine and/or poor citations.

The episode highlights why it's so important to track down original references and to be cautious with literature summaries.

Here are the two papers I mention in this episode:

• Boulares, E., Bragazzi, N. L., Yin, T. S. C., Choi, S. J., Park, J. H., & Han, D. (2026). Assessing the safety of herbal medicine use among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 97, Article 103319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103319
• Levorato, S., Dominici, L., Fatigoni, C., Zadra, C., Pagiotti, R., Moretti, M., & Villarini, M. (2018). In vitro toxicity evaluation of estragole-containing preparations derived from Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel) on HepG2 cells. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 111, 616-622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.12.014

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