Gymnema Silver

The Sugar Blocker

Gymnema Silver- 500mg/30 caps

Each veggie cap contains 500mg of Gymnema sylvestre extract.

Gymnema sylvestre is a vine-like plant that grows in the tropical forest of India and Asia. It is called the "destroyer of sugar" because in ancient times, Ayurvedic physicians observed that chewing gymnema leaves suppressed the taste of sugar. You may try it yourself. Break open a capsule of Gymnema Silver and put some powder in your tongue. It tastes bitter. Then eat some sweet foods (candy, cake, sugar). You will be surprised that sweet foods will become almost tasteless!

How it blocks sugar absorption
Gymnema sylvestre contains gymnemic acid, which is made up of molecules which is similar in structure with glucose (sugar) molecules.

Those molecules fill the receptor locations on the taste buds for a period of one to two hours, thereby preventing the taste buds from being activated by any sugar molecule present in the food.

Interestingly,the structure of the taste buds, which detect sugar in the mouth, is similar to the structure of the tissue that absorbs sugar in the intestine.

Similarly, the glucose-like molecules in the gymnemic acid fill the receptor locations in the absorptive external layers of the intestine, thereby preventing the intestine from absorbing the sugar molecules.

Clinical studies

A 2012 study by researchers in the Department of Biology at Sri Venkateswara University produced astounding conclusions in support of gymnema’s role as a weight loss aid. "Over the course of 8 weeks, researchers administered a gymnema extract to obese rats; the obesity had been induced by feeding the rats a high fat diet. At the end of the study, it was noted that the rats had experienced a decrease in body weight and food consumption. To some surprise, it was also noted that “bad cholesterol” levels had fallen. Not only are the results clear evidence in support of gymnema’s use in traditional medicine, it also gives insight into the possibility that the herb could be used as a therapy for high cholesterol and triglyceride levels".

A South Korean study showed that "lab rats that were given a gymnema supplement 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".

A Physiology & Behavior study 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 consume gymnema".

Direction for Use: Take 1-2 capsules before eating sweet foods or carbs.