 For sugar metabolism -- Helps
with sugar cravings -- Supports your weight loss program by metabolizing
sugars, fats for energy before they become fat.*
The medicinally active parts of the plant are the leaves and the roots.
It came to be known as "destroyer of sugar" because,in ancient times,
Ayurvedic physicians observed that chewing a few leaves of Gymnema
sylvestre suppressed the taste of sugar. That is, sweet foods no longer
tasted sweet, but rather became almost completely tasteless. In later
generations, clinical tests showed that regular use over a period of three
to four months helped to reduce glycosuria, or the appearance of
carbohydrates in urine. Recent clinical trials conducted in India have
shown that an extract of Gymnema sylvestre is useful for controling Blood
Sugar.
As a result of these clinical tests and years of successful treatments,
Gymnema sylvestre is used today for controling blood sugar levels. In
reducing the symptom of glycosuria, the dried leaves are used in daily
doses of three to four grams for a period of three months or more.
Studies conducted in India as early as 1930 showed that the leaves of
Gymnema sylvestre cause hypoglycemia in experimental animals. This state
of hypoglycemiais explained on the assumption that the drug indirectly
stimulates the insulin secretion of the pancreas, since it has no direct
effect on the carbohydrate metabolism.
How Gymnema sylvestre Works
Recent pharmacological and clinical studies have shown that Gymnema
sylvestre acts on two sites:
- First, the taste buds in the oral cavity;
- Second, the absorptive surface to the intestines.
The structure of those taste buds which detect sugar in the mouth is similar
to the structure of the tissue that absorbs sugar in the intestine. The
important active ingredient of Gymnema sylvestre is an organic acid called
"gymnemic acid." The gymnemic acid is made up of molecules who seatom
arrangement is similar to that of glucose molecules. Those molecules fill
the receptor locations on the taste buds for a period of one to two hours,
thereby preventing the taste buds from being activated by any sugar
molecules present in the food. Similarly, the glucose-like molecules in the
gymnemic acid fill the receptor locations in the absorptive external layers
of the intestine, thereby preventing the intestine from absorbing the sugar
molecules.
It has also been noted that Gymnema sylvestre takes away the bitter taste of
bitter substances, such as quinine, in much the same way that it affects the
sense of sweetness associated with candies and other sweet foods. However,
it has no effect on pungent, salty, astringent or acidic tastes. Therefore,
if you are eating an orange within two hours after chewing Gymnema sylvestre
leaves, for instance, you would taste the sourness of it but not the
sweetness.
Practical Uses
The benefits of Gymnema sylvestre are two-fold:
By suppressing the taste of sweet foods, the desire to eat them is also
suppressed. Picture a luscious-looking large piece of chocolate candy, which
you know, despite the tempting look, is not sweet. Why bother to eat it? It
is important to remember that this effect of Gymnema sylvestre's will last
for only one to two hours. If you are using the herb to break the sugar
habit, then it would be wise to take some Gymnema sylvestre before social
events or other times when you might be tempted to dive into the tray of
sweets.
Gymnema sylvestre significantly reduces the metabolic effects of sugar
by preventing the intestines from absorbing the sugar molecules during the
process of digestion. Because there is a change in the absorption of sugar,
there is a consequent change in the blood sugar level.
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