You probably heard a herbal agent called gymnema sylvestre right? It is often used as an ingredient in most weight loss supplements.
So is this herb a reliable slimming aid? What does it do to help promote weight loss? And, what are its other health benefits?
In this short but detailed herb review, I will discuss to you the many health benefits of gymnema sylvestre, and how it can contribute for your weight loss program. Read on!
What is Gymnema Sylvestre?
A woody climbing shrub, gymnema sylvestre is a plant primarily found in India and some parts of Africa and Australia.
Its leaves are used to make medicinal drugs and has a long history with India’s Ayurvedic medicine. In fact, gymnema in Hindi literally means “destroyer of sugar“.
For centuries, this herb is used to help treat various diseases such as diabetes, malaria, snake bites, and of course, weight gain.
Though most research studies don’t favored such health claims, there are a handful of scientific evidence that supports these benefits.
So first, what are the known health benefits of this herb?
Known for Lowering Blood Sugar Levels
Diabetes is a metabolic disease that may be considered as a pandemic in today’s standard. Why? Because it is a global health issue as over 400 million people suffers from it.
Many people have abandoned their usual medicinal treatment to try unconventional herbal treatment, and this is where plants like gymnema sylvestre comes in.
This herb has anti-diabetic properties, primarily efficient in lowering blood sugar levels. As mentioned above, gymnema is a “destroyer of sugar” in Hindi.
There are insufficient evidence that this herb alone can help treat diabetes, but there’s great potential.
According to experts, gymnema sylvestre effectively blocks receptors in the intestines, which helps block sugar absorption. This helps lower your blood sugar levels.
How is this possible? According to this study (1), gymnemic acid, the active chemical in this herb helps reduce the intestinal absorption of sugar glucose.
This herb also help increase the amount of insulin in the body while also increasing the growth of cells in the pancreas (where insulin is produced).
Lowers Your Risk of Heart Disease
Reports say that this herb helps reduce your risk of heart disease like heart attack by lowering your bad cholesterol levels and triglycerides.
A study conducted in obese individuals showed that gymnema sylvestre helped reduce triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels by at least 20.2% and 19% respectively, while boosting the good “HDL” cholesterol levels. (2).
As you know, having high levels of LDL and triglycerides are both risk factors for heart disease. Even similar studies on animals have shown the same results.
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Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation nowadays are very common due to our environment and unhealthy lifestyle. Hence, we need to protect ourselves from the adverse effects of various body inflammations.
One way to do that is to lower your blood sugar levels. Having high sugar in your system is a risk factor for various inflammation-related diseases (3).
With that said, the sugar-lowering health properties of gymnema sylvestre can also help lower your risk of inflammatory diseases.
How does Gymnema Sylvestre Works for Weight Loss?
Like many other herbs like glucomannan, fenugreek and rhodiola rosea, gymnema sylvestre also posses weight loss effects.
This herb is known in the weight loss community as “sugar craving buster“. In short, it can help curb your appetite which helps lower sugar-rich food consumption.
And as a natural appetite suppressant, this herbal aid is quite a champion with regards to both human and animal weight loss studies.
A 60 moderate to obese individuals study have shown that taking gymnema sylvestre extract contributes to at least 5% body weight decrease while also reducing their food intake (2).
The weight loss effect may derived from this herb’s ability to block sweet receptors on your taste buds, causing you to eat less sweet foods and consume less calories.
Less calories and less overall food intake naturally leads to weight loss.
Possible Side Effects of Gymnema Sylvestre
Generally, this herb is safe when taken appropriately for up to 20 months. However, if you have existing conditions like diabetes, underlying disease, pregnancy or bread-feeding, then this herb might trigger adverse reactions.
You cannot also take gymnema sylvestre based supplements if you are taking any blood-lowering medications as this will cause your blood sugar to drop considerably to unsafe levels.
You are encourage to consult your doctor first before you consume or take gymnema sylvestre-based products.
Conclusion
Now you know that this herb is quite beneficial for your overall health, especially if you are looking to lower your sugary food consumption.
Based on the facts above, you can use gymnema sylvestre as your next weight loss aid though you still have to consider the safety precautions I stated above.
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References:
Gymnema Sylvestre for Diabetic: From Traditional Herb to Future’s Therapeutic
by: Pragya Tiwari, Khurshid Ahmad, Mohammad Hassan Baig
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27834124/
Effects of a Natural Extract of (-)-Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA-SX) and a Combination of HCA-SX Plus Niacin-Bound Chromium and Gymnema Sylvestre Extract on Weight Loss
by: HG Preuss, D Bagchi, M Bagchi, CVS Rao, DK Dey, and S Satyanarayana
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15056124/
Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, Obesity-Induced Inflammation, and Liver Injury
by: Thomas Frazier, John DiBaise, and Craig McClain
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21807932/
Image Credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gymnema_sylvestre_R.Br_-_Flickr_-_lalithamba.jpg
Lalithamba from India, CC BY 2.0
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