Gymnema Sylvestre Extract Supplements & Health Benefits – Diabetes

Being diagnosed with diabetes is a real game-changer. Living with this illness means monitoring your glucose levels carefully and taking medication to keep yourself healthy — sometimes even through injecting insulin at home. Thankfully, there are ways to support better diabetic health, and they’ve been under our noses for thousands of years by Ayurvedics and other practitioners of traditional medicine.

One of the most effective is gymnema sylvestre, and when taken in extract form this ages-old folk medicine can be a real modern medical marvel. In fact, the amount of new and modern scientific research into gymnema sylvestre extract and how it works is proving that those generations of Ayurvedics knew exactly what they were doing!

Gymnema Sylvestre as Diabetes Cure?
When it comes to how gymnema sylvestre and diabetes interacts, it’s important to make one thing very clear: while gymnema sylvestre benefits include a positive effect on diabetic symptoms, they can’t eliminate the disease completely. That’s because there’s no known cure for diabetes. The symptoms of the illness can go into remission, which is the next best thing. And yes, taking gymnema sylvestre supplements may play a role in that.

How exactly does gymnema sylvestre handle this? It’s quite fascinating, really — the anti-diabetic properties of the extract are due to all-natural components that lower your blood sugar. By slowing or eliminating sugar absorption in the stomach. Not only that, but gymnema sylvestre also reduces your ability to taste sugar in the first place, which makes you less likely to consume them in the first place! So gymnema sylvestre might not be a cure — since that’s just not possible — but at this point, it’s one of the best, and most natural, ways to support better diabetic health.

Other Uses of Gymnema Sylvestre
In addition to being able to slow down sugar absorption and make it easier to put down those sweets, gymnema sylvestre does have a few other uses. This woody vine, which grows naturally in the tropical regions of Australia, Africa, China, Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula, is pretty much exclusively used for Ayurvedic or traditional medicine.

Gymnema sylvestre extracts, teas, and tinctures have all been used as a traditional medicine for treating eye ailments, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal issues and stomach upset, obesity, viral infections, and more. Still, it’s most famous for being able to combat sugar. In fact, the name for the plant in Hindi is “gurmar”, which means “destroyer of sugar”!

Gymnema Sylvestre Benefits
Gymnema sylvestre benefits range much farther than just its use as a way to control how your body tastes and metabolizes sugar, of course. Here’s a short list of just what this great plant extract can do for you, up to and including the excellent health benefits it can provide anyone struggling with a diagnosis of diabetes.

Cardiovascular Health
Gymnema sylvestre has shown some very good potential in providing better overall cardiovascular health for those that take it regularly. This is because it’s thought to have a positive effect on the levels of “bad” cholesterol in your bloodstream. Modern research, across several different studies, has shown that taking gymnema sylvestre extract has this ability.

Anti-Inflammatory Capabilities
Thanks to many of the bioactive ingredients in the plant itself, gymnema sylvestre supplements are also thought to have strong anti-inflammatory properties. This is based on the amount of tannins and saponins, both organic compounds that are excellent at reducing inflammation, the gymnema plant contains. These compounds help regulate your immune system and reduce overall inflammation.

Weight Loss
Gymnema sylvestre extract has shown some very strong potential to help you on your weight loss journey. Lots of modern medical research has been done on the subject, and the overall consensus is that the ability for gymnema sylvestre to bond to the taste receptors in your tongue that are responsible for sensing sugar help block the taste of sweet foods, which can encourage you to reduce your overall caloric intake.

Blood Sugar and Insulin Control
And now the main event: the way gymnema sylvestre can help diabetics control their blood sugar. There are two ways that this happens, according to medical science: the first, which has been studied extensively, is how it reduces the amount of glucose your stomach absorbs in the first place. Less sugar going into your bloodstream in the first place helps drop those glucose numbers, after all.

But there’s more that gymnema sylvestre supplements can do for you when it comes to supporting better diabetic health. Research has shown that in some cases the supplement can help stimulate the pancreas to increase insulin production, which might reduce a diabetic’s reliance on having to inject insulin.

How Much Gymnema Sylvestre Should I Have Each Day?
In traditional medicine, gymnema sylvestre is taken as a tea or taken by chewing the leaves of the plant itself. As a supplement, dosages can be different depending on what type of gymnema sylvestre supplement you’re taking.

Taking it fresh in a tea requires boiling it for 5 minutes and then letting it steep for 10 to 15 minutes
Using a powder involves starting at 2 grams and then going as high as 4 grams per day as long as you tolerate it well.
Meanwhile, if you’re taking your gymnema sylvestre extract in capsule form, the most common dose that medical research says is effective is 100mg taken between 3 to 4 times every day
Speaking of side effects, gymnema sylvestre is generally recognized as safe but isn’t recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. Because it’s related to milkweed, you might have an allergic reaction if milkweed already bothers you. Finally, taking it with other blood-sugar lowering herbs like St. John’s Wort might exacerbate the effects. As always, talk to your doctor before starting any nutritional supplement regimen!

Control Your Sugar with the Sugar Destroyer
Gymnema sylvestre is truly a gift for those of us who struggle with diabetic health. Supercharge your ability to control your blood sugar, increase your insulin levels, and even help weight loss with this ancient plant known as the sugar destroyer!