What is Gymnema Sylvestre?

Gymnema Sylvestre is an herb found in the tropical forests of India and Asia. Gymnema has historic use as a therapy for diabetes and arthritis and has also earned significant recent interest as a multi-supportive therapy for weight management. Evidence suggests Gymnema can reduce cravings for sweets, sugar absorption during digestion, and promote normal blood sugar levels.

How Does Gymnema Sylvestre Work?

Appetite Suppression: The Gymnema plant contains a number of compounds, such as acidic glycosides and anthroquinones. The primary bioactive constituent of Gymnema, known as Gymnemic acid, is found in the leaves and roots. Gymnemic acids are sweetness inhibitors. Simply put, chewing gymnema leaves will reduce the taste of sugar, or “sweetness,” in the mouth. The temporary effect is noticed with both artificial and natural sweeteners; and suggests Gymnema may have value as an appetite suppressant.

This conclusion was cited in a Physiology & Behavior study where researchers tested the effects of Gymnema on average weight persons who were fasting. They found that those who took Gymnema one hour before being offered food ate less than the participants who had not consumed Gymnema.

Blocks Sugar Absorption: During digestion, Gymnemic acids have a “sugar blocking” property. A South Korean study noted this with lab rats that were given a Gymnema supplement and experienced reduced sugar absorption during digestion. Structurally, gymnemic acids are very similar to glucose and behave in the intestine in a similar way. When Gymnemic acids lock in to intestinal receptors, they effectively lock out glucose. This prevents sugar from being absorbed. This effect has a twofold benefit in that it helps balance blood sugar, and it promotes lean body mass by lessening the amount of sugar that gets stored as fat.

Nutritional Support for Diabetics: Studies suggest there is merit to Gymnema’s other historical use to support blood sugar levels. This value is due in part to its tendency to promote normal blood sugar and positively affect insulin production. Researchers at the Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Madras, India, showed Gymnema supplementation produces an increase in insulin levels. Insulin is produced in the pancreas, and it’s believed that the insulin increase may be due to a regeneration of pancreatic cells.

Benefits

• Gymnema is a woody climbing shrub native to India and Africa. The leaves are used to make medicine. Gymnema has a long history of use in India’s Ayurvedic medicine. The Hindi name, gurmar, means "destroyer of sugar."
• Today, Gymnema is used for blood sugar support and weight loss. It is also used as a digestive stimulant, laxative, appetite suppressant, and diuretic in eastern medicine.
• Known to help block sugar absorption in the body, which helps drop weight when dieting.
• Gymnema Sylvestre has shown to be a very strong appetite suppressant used on its own as a single ingredient.
• Gymnema Sylvestre is also an ingredient to consider when creating a multi-ingredient diet product as it is not a stimulant; yet offers weight loss benefits.