Filed Under GLUCOSE MANAGEMENT
Gymnema for Diabetes
by Dr. David Williams
Published 03/31
For hundreds of years, practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine in India have recommended using the leaves of the plant Gymnema sylvestre to treat adult-onset diabetes. New research indicates that extracts of this tropical plant decreased fasting blood sugar levels, normalized blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides), lowered insulin requirements and enhanced production of insulin by pancreatic cells.
It appears that many of these feats resulted from the repair and/or regeneration of the actual insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. (J Ethnopharm 90;30:265–279, 281–305)
Two of the studies involved human subjects and the results were positive not only for adult-onset diabetes, but for juvenile diabetes as well! The gymnema extract was administered orally in dosages of 400 mg per day.
Since the first study was performed on rats, researchers were able to do autopsies. Their findings were remarkable. In the diabetic rats pancreas weight increased almost 30 percent! The number of islets and beta cells (the structures responsible for producing and delivering insulin) more than doubled! To add more icing to the cake, gymnema, unlike conventional medications, didn’t alter hormone release in those rats with normal blood sugar.
Previous studies have shown that researchers could increase the survival time of diabetic animals simply by feeding them the leaves of the gymnema sylvestre plant! Ingesting the leaves also decreases the craving for and consumption of sweets for several hours afterwards. (Int J Crude Drug Res 86;24[Dec]:171–176)
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