The most common names for this herb include “periploca of the woods” and “Australian cowplant.” But its Hindi name, “gurmar,” is the most interesting. It translates to “destroyer of sugar.”
This name is well-deserved: Gymnema sylvestre leaves can help prevent your taste buds from accessing sweet flavors, which gives Gymnema a laundry list of health benefits. Gymnema sylvestre leaves can lower blood sugar levels, eliminate sugar cravings, speed up weight loss, and lower insulin levels.
Gymnema grows in Australia, Africa, Sri Lanka, and India. Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of medical knowledge dating back 5,000 years, uses Gymnema sylvestre to treat snake bites and for its antimicrobial activity.
This article will cover the health benefits of Gymnema sylvestre and why it’s a useful dietary supplement for sugar cravings, especially when you’re following a high-fat diet.
What Is Gymnema Sylvestre?
Gymnema sylvestre is a hardy climbing shrub native to India, Australia, and Africa. It grows wild and is also cultivated by farmers who sell the leaves for their valuable medicinal uses.
Unlike pharmaceutical drugs that only contain one active molecule, G. sylvestre has a variety of bioactive compounds.
Gymnema leaves contain saponins, gymnemic acids, and other precious chemicals that have several benefits including:
- Increasing insulin secretion in response to food
- Promoting the regeneration of damaged cells
- Improving glucose metabolism by non-insulin-dependent means
- Blocking the absorption of sugar in the small intestine
One of the most incredible compounds in Gymnema is gurmarin, a peptide that prevents your tongue’s taste buds from detecting sweet foods.
Chemically, gurmarin has a similar structure to sugar. It occupies your tongue’s taste bud receptors and prevents them from distinguishing between sweet taste and bitter flavor.
Gymnemic acids act similarly on your intestinal lining to prevent you from absorbing sugars during digestion.
8 Health Benefits of Gymnema Sylvestre
Here are 8 health benefits of Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract, which might make you consider using this natural product as a supplement to your diet.
#1: Helps With Sugar Cravings
Gymnema’s number one superpower is its ability to temporarily reduce the perception of sweet flavors and reduce cravings for sugar and sweets. It doesn’t affect other flavors, only sweet ones.
This is great news if you’re getting into ketosis or you’re in ketosis, but still experiencing the occasional sweet tooth. Gymnema sylvestre is a fantastic choice to help you avoid sugar and sweet treats by making them less appealing.
#2: May Promote Weight Loss
If your goal is to lose fat, Gymnema sylvestre extract can make weight loss easier. Gymnema has an anti-obesity effect in humans and rats, prevents weight gain, and improves health markers associated with being overweight[*][*].
A study has shown that overweight people find that they eat less when they take Gymnema sylvestre before meals[*].
Gymnema helps to reduce body weight, but without stimulating the central nervous system. This means it doesn’t increase stress, alter cortisol levels, or disrupt sleep.
After taking Gymnema for three weeks, obese rats decreased their body weight to normal levels[*].
Gymnema pairs well with a ketogenic diet for fat loss. It makes the transition to low-carb intake easier and reduces the adverse effects of eating too many carbs, particularly too much sugar.
#3: Helps Control Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
Gymnema can be a great supplement option for diabetes and metabolic syndrome, too. It improves blood sugar control and reduces high blood glucose levels.
In a clinical trial involving people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, Gymnema proved to help balance insulin release and reduce dependence on insulin therapy or oral diabetes drugs.
The use of Gymnema can even help restore insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells and may help them regenerate. At the same time, animal research suggests that it can suppress glucose absorption in the digestive tract.
Insulin-dependent diabetes patients taking Gymnema were able to reduce their insulin dosage by 50%, and also had lower blood sugar levels. In a study conducted on diabetic rats, Gymnema was shown to treat conditions such as hyperglycemia and hypoinsulinemia, among others.
In another study, type 2 diabetic patients who took Gymnema extract were able to reduce their diabetes drug dosages, and some patients even successfully stopped using diabetes drugs altogether.
If you suffer from diabetes, you should talk to your doctor before replacing or changing any medication.
#4: Increases Your Antioxidant Levels and Reduces Oxidative Stress
Gymnema is also packed with antioxidants, such as tannins and flavonoids.
Overweight people usually show lower levels of antioxidants and higher levels of oxidative stress, which has been linked to a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver diseases, and cancer[*].
A study using obese rats showed that Gymnema boosted rats’ natural antioxidant systems, decreasing the strain on their body from being overweight.
#5: Offers Antimicrobial Properties
Due to its specific phytochemical profile, this plant’s natural extract can be a potent antimicrobial and antifungal treatment for candida, staph infections, and other types of bacteria.
Other Benefits of Gymnema Sylvestre
- It may provide neuroprotection against diabetic neuropathy.
- It may help improve kidney health, reducing urea and uric acid.
- It can promote the inhibition of tumor growth.
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Article was published by https://perfectketo.com/
Written by Corey Nelson
