Gymnema Sylvestre And Weight Loss

Gymnema sylvestre helps weight loss in two main ways:

• 1. When used directly on the tongue it reduces or removes the desire for sweet foods and fatty foods, and
• 2. It appears to block fat absorption from the digestion into the blood, which means that more dietary fat is excreted in the stools.
  

In users of Gymnema sylvestre, reduced levels in the blood of both cholesterol and triglycerides (the form in which calories are stored in fat cells) is then observed.

Preliminary studies have identified a reduction in weight and also upper abdominal, waist, and hip circumferences when given a supplement which included gymnema. More clinical studies are needed to confirm this effect.

Gymnema sylvestre can be a great help when it is desired to lose weight. Gymnema is best taken:

• Just before a meal or snack to reduce the desire for sweet or fatty foods, and
• Three times a day, to reduce sugar absorption from the gut.

A Diet To Accompany Gymnema Sylvestre

By combining Gymnema sylvestre with a healthier diet plus regular exercise, weight loss will be more assured.

The main food to cut down on when trying to reduce sugar in the blood is starch. The main sources of starch in the Western diet are:

• Bread, rice, pasta, pastries, pies
  
• Many beans, pulses, grains
  
• Some vegetables - potatoes, sweet potato, parsnips, carrots, beetroot
  
• Most fruit (because of its sugar content)
  
• Many seeds and nuts, though hazelnuts, sesame seeds, almonds and coconut are low or quite low in starch

Pure protein food: meat and fish contain only traces of starch; milk, butter - small amounts; most cheese - modest amounts only. Some meat and some fish do contain higher amounts of toxins than another; for example, the larger fish - shark, tuna, swordfish; and non-organic meat has fewer toxins. In animals, toxins concentrate in the body fat, so obvious fat is best removed, as is the skin of poultry.

The Glycaemic Index must also be considered when deciding which starches to eat. this is a comparison of the speed with which starches in foods get into the blood stream, compared to the speed with which glucose does so.

For a more detailed discussion of dietary factors involved in Metabolic Syndrome (or Syndrome X), the Glycaemic Index, and diet plans for Metabolic Syndrome, see Leslie Kenton's book The X Factor Diet.