Diabetic Food List + Plus

Gymnema Sylvestre
The next item that I am considering for my diabetic food list is a substance called gymnema sylvestre. Gymnema sylvestra is an herbal substance obtained from the tropical forests of India and has long been recommended by naturopathic medical practitioners for use in treating diabetes to lower blood sugar levels. Naturopathic doctors recommend treating disease by a combination of modern medical science and traditional medical approaches.

Known and used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine, the traditional medicine that is practiced widely in India, it also finds favor in Western medicine within the system categorized as alternative or complementary medicine.

Gymnema sylvestre is claimed to aid in the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels and to achieve effects that are equivalent to insulin or some of the most frequently used oral medications. It is also claimed that many studies have been carried out that confirm those opinions. A comment relating to one such study suggests that the leaves of gymnema can promote the regeneration of pancreatic cells that secrete insulin. A lack of insulin production by the pancreas is a major cause of type-1 diabetes and also one that contributes to type-2 diabetes. Another comment on past clinical research states, among other things, that gymnema improves the absorption of glucose by the body’s cells, which would be good for diabetics since the glucose would otherwise continue to circulate in the bloodstream.

Apart from diabetes, of additional interest are other properties claimed for gymnema sylvestre regarding other disease conditions. It seems that gymnema leaves can apparently lower triglycerides and also lower serum LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol. It has also been suggested to be beneficial in its use as an aid in losing weight. A substance that can do so many things deserves, I believe, consideration to be added to the diabetic food list.

References to research, a recommendation and dosage
While there are abundant comments on the benefits of gymnema sylvestre in naturopathic literature, I had found it difficult to track down specific references to individual clinical research and testing that provides actual details. However, a recent reader of this article has supplied suitable references that can be consulted and those are now shown, with thanks, in the comments section at the end of this article.

Dr. Stephen Sinatra, in his book The Sinatra Solution, published in 2005 by Basic Health Publications Inc, in addition to several other substances, says in reference to what he calls nutraceuticals, that for diabetes he “likes” a daily dose of 100 to 200 mg of gymnema sylvestra. Also in mentioning nutraceuticals, Dr. Sinatra suggests the use of alpha-lipoic acid in doses of 100 to 400 mg and vanadyl sulphate in the amount of 1 mg daily.

Dr. Stephen Sinatra is a well-known cardiologist who has written extensively on the treatment of heart disease and how it can be prevented and reversed. Diabetes is considered to be a major risk factor for heart disease. Dr. Sinatra’s explanations in his books on the subject are very informative and, with a little effort and concentration, easy to understand. Several other cardiologists have also written informative books on the treatment and reversal of cardiovascular disease and diabetes that are well-worth reading.

Dr. Sinatra is also associated with a line of health products, at least in the use of his name, that I believe especially meet and match his views for treatment of cardiovascular and related diseases. I do not use any of the brand of products listed on Dr. Sinatra’s website and I don’t believe his association with the commercial marketing of such items presents a conflict so I might possibly consider using them sometime in the future. On the strength of Dr. Sinatra’s recommendations, I am likely to check out the use of gymnema sylvestre for my own diabetes and for my recently diagnosed cardiovascular disease condition.

I am aware that gymnema sylvestre is available from a wide range of sources such as health food stores and I see that the dose for the Beta Fast product, mentioned in the Comment below, is 400 mg twice daily, (in the morning and the evening).