GYMNEMA Improves blood sugar control in Diabetics(Gymnema sylvestre )

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GYMNEMA Improves blood sugar control in Diabetics(Gymnema

sylvestre )

Apr 18, 2007 14:14 PDT

 

GYMNEMA (Gymnema sylvestre )

Latin: Gymnema sylvestre

Sanskrit: Gurmar

 

WHAT IT DOES: Gymnema is bitter in taste, and cooling in action. It

improves blood sugar control in diabetics, numbs the taste of sweet

completely (for about 20 minutes), and decreases appetite (for about

90

minutes).

 

RATING: yellow

 

SAFETY ISSUES: None reported. Should not be used by people with low

blood sugars (hypoglycemia).

 

STARTING DOSAGE:

• 1:1 extract: five to 10 ml per day

• Pill: 500-1000 mg three times per day

 

Gymnema actually means " sugar destroyer. " It grows in the wild

forests

of central India, all the way to Western Ghats and up to the

Himalayas.

Research indicates that gymnema stimulates insulin secretion or

release

of insulin from the pancreas. Japanese studies have shown that it

improves glucose tolerance in animal models of diabetes, and other

studies show that the effects can last for up to two months after

discontinuation. This herb is a good long-term tonic for Type I and

II

diabetics. Results are best seen after long-term administration,

over

six months to a year. I prefer to use it in combination with several

other herbs for blood sugar control, because it affects only a few

aspects of the imbalance.

 

In case you're curious, sugar tastes like sand for twenty minutes

after

you chew on a little gymnema.

 

Research Highlights

 

• Triterpenoid saponins in gymnema are responsible for its dramatic

sweet taste-blocking action (Baskaran et al., 1990).

 

• One animal study testing extracts of gymnema confirmed earlier

conclusions of human studies that the herb stimulates insulin

release,

adding that it works by increasing permeability in the islets of

Langerhans, allowing more insulin to escape into the blood (Persaud

et

al., 1999; Shanmugasundaram et al., 1990).

 

• In tests on diabetic rabbits, gymnema dried leaf powder not only

helped control elevated blood sugars, it also corrected metabolic

derangements in the liver, kidney and muscles (Shanmugasundaram KR

et

al., 1983).

 

• Gymnema does not seem to improve insulin resistance in diabetic

rats,

although other herbs have been known to do so (Tominaga et al.,

1995).

 

• Gymnemic acids found in gymnema have been found to bind

cholesterol,

causing it to be excreted in the stool of animals (Nakamura et al.,

1999).

 

• Gymnemic acids also bind glucose and a common fatty acid (oleic

acid)

in the intestine, causing reduced uptake into the blood (Wang et

al.,

1998, Shimizu et al., 1997).

http://oneearthherbs.squarespace.com/important-herbs/gymnema-gymnema-

sylvestre-.html

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets