Cinnamon and Bitter Melon for reducing fasting levels

[SweetHeart]

I found Gymnema to be the best thing for carb cravings too. Incidentally, it's also supposed to be effective as an aphrodisiac......

Ju

 

[Anonymous]

I found Gymnema to be the best thing for carb cravings too. Incidentally, it's also supposed to be effective as an aphrodisiac......

Ju

Actually, that's a jolly good suggestion, since many of us have problems in the "downstairs department" :lol:

 

[Defren]

I agree with the Gymnema, I take a slightly lower dose then xyzzy, but if my figures are a bit higher than I'd like I bump them up a bit. I am REALLY impressed with the Cinnamon, it's keeping my general levels down even if I have been slightly higher than my usual ultra low carbing, so I am really pleased.

 

[xyzzy]

Studies of Gymnema, of which there are many, appear to show it works in three ways. First it allows more insulin to be released from the pancreas but interestingly its atomic structure is such that it can block the receptors in the gut that would normally absorb glucose. Finally it does something to the receptors in your tongue so that sweet things taste less sweet and therefore reduces sugar craving. I've found it is an effective appetite suppressant. There are also studies to show it can lower cholesterol as well but more research is needed to confirm. It is not a magic pill and although I've found it to be very effective at controlling spikes it is certainly no better than Metformin. Also a word of caution you should always take it with food or there is a small but none the less real chance that it can cause a hypo if taken in sufficient quantity. You can buy nine hundred 400mg tabs for around £14 + shipping from Puritans Pride. As it ships from the States you might get asked to pay a bit of import duty if customs deem it necessary.

For those who like to see the official science look here.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2170951/

of which the important stuff is below. Gymnemic Acid is the active ingredient found within Gymnema leaves and is effectively what you end up taking if you take Gymnema tablets.

Mechanism of Action of Gymnemic Acids

Gymnemic acid formulations have also been found useful against obesity, according to recent reports [10]. This is attributed to the ability of gymnemic acids to delay the glucose absorption in the blood. The atomic arrangement of gymnemic acid molecules is similar to that of glucose molecules. These molecules fill the receptor locations on the taste buds thereby preventing its activation by sugar molecules present in the food, thereby curbing the sugar craving. Similarly, Gymnemic acid molecules fill the receptor location in the absorptive external layers of the intestine thereby preventing the sugar molecules absorption by the intestine, which results in low blood sugar level [11].

G. sylvestre leaves have been found to cause hypoglycemia in laboratory animals and have found a use in herbal medicine to help treat adult onset diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). When Gymnema leaf extract is administered to a diabetic patient, there is stimulation of the pancreas by virtue of which there is an increase in insulin release [12]. These compounds have also been found to increase fecal excretion of cholesterol [13], but further studies to prove clinical significance in treating hypercholesterolemia (high serum cholesterol) are required. Other uses for Gymnema leaf extract are its ability to act as a laxative, diuretic, and cough suppressant. These other actions would be considered adverse reactions when Gymnema is used for its glucose lowering effect in diabetes.

Gymnema leaf extract, notably the peptide ‘Gurmarin’, has been found to interfere with the ability of the taste buds on the tongue to taste sweet and bitter. Gymnemic acid has a similar effect. It is believed that by inhibiting the sweet taste sensation, people taking it will limit their intake of sweet foods, and this activity may be partially responsible for its hypoglycemic effect [14].

There are some possible mechanisms by which the leaves and especially Gymnemic acids from G. sylvestre exert its hypoglycemic effects are: 1) it increases secretion of insulin, 2) it promotes regeneration of islet cells, 3) it increases utilization of glucose: it is shown to increase the activities of enzymes responsible for utilization of glucose by insulin-dependant pathways, an increase in phosphorylase activity, decrease in gluconeogenic enzymes and sorbitol dehydrogenase, and 4) it causes inhibition of glucose absorption from intestine.

The gymnemic acid components are believed to block the absorption of glucose in the small intestine, the exact action being unknown. It could be involve one or more mechanisms [14].

One of the mechanisms responsible for adult onset diabetes mellitus is a form of insulin resistance, which is attributed to the inability of insulin to enter cells via the insulin receptor. Gymnema may overcome this resistance, but require further studies to confirm its validity and also whether the effect is clinically relevant. Should this effect be proven, Gymnema may prove useful in both adult onset (NIDDM) and juvenile onset diabetes mellitus (IDDM) to help insulin enter cells. In the case of IDDM, the insulin is injected by syringe and is not secreted from the pancreas [15].

The leaves are also noted for lowering serum cholesterol and triglycerides. The primary chemical constituents of Gymnema include gymnemic acid, tartaric acid, gurmarin, calcium oxalate, glucose, stigmasterol, betaine, and choline. While the water-soluble acidic fractions reportedly provide the hypoglycemic action, it is not yet clear what specific constituent in the leaves is responsible for the same. Some researchers have suggested gymnemic acid as one possible candidate, although further research is needed [16]. Both gurmarin (another constituent of the leaves) and gymnemic acid have been shown to block sweet taste in humans. The major constituents of the plant material 3B glucuronides of different acetylated gymnemagenins, gymnemic acid a complex mixture of at least 9 closely related acidic glucosides [17–19].

The following figure could provide a diagrammatic representation for explaining the action of gymnemic acids on the intestinal receptors. The basic function of the acids is to bind to the receptor on the intestine, and stop the glucose molecule from binding to the receptor. Thus, gymnemic acids prevent the absorption of excess glucose.

 

[SweetHeart]

You can buy nine hundred 400mg tabs for around £14 + shipping from Puritans Pride. As it ships from the States you might get asked to pay a bit of import duty if customs deem it necessary.

If I remember rightly, the cost of the item(s) has to be £18.00 or over before import tax can be levied.

Ju

 

[catza]

That's interesting SweetHeart.

I have just done a search and found the following

All other goods

If you order or send purchased goods other than alcohol, tobacco, perfume and toilet water from a country outside the EU then you:

don't have to pay Excise Duty
may have to pay Customs Duty on goods with a value that exceeds £135
will have to pay import VAT on goods with a value that exceeds £15

Note that on all goods from outside the EU, Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is £9 or under.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm#3

I am just about to put an order in and hopefully I shall not be charged if I just order my Gymnema which is just under £14. Just have to work out what is the most cost effective. Goods under £14 + p&p or, more goods + VAT but with a better p&p ratio. :crazy:

 

[Defren]

That's interesting SweetHeart.

I have just done a search and found the following

All other goods

If you order or send purchased goods other than alcohol, tobacco, perfume and toilet water from a country outside the EU then you:

don't have to pay Excise Duty
may have to pay Customs Duty on goods with a value that exceeds £135
will have to pay import VAT on goods with a value that exceeds £15

Note that on all goods from outside the EU, Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is £9 or under.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm#3

I am just about to put an order in and hopefully I shall not be charged if I just order my Gymnema which is just under £14. Just have to work out what is the most cost effective. Goods under £14 + p&p or, more goods + VAT but with a better p&p ratio. :crazy:

My order was £29 as I got some acai berry and CoQ10. I didn't pay any extra in Customs, perhaps I just hit lucky?

 

[catza]

Decided to let fate take it's course and ordered both my Gymnema and Vit B12, what I save in postage will more than cover any VAT.

Patience was never my strong point but I shall just have to wait and see what the final cost will be.

 

[SweetHeart]

C&E checks are random on domestic packages.

I've bought big parcels of fabrics from the US for years without getting charged import tax. The one time I did have a problem was a single roll of wallpaper border from Canada, for which I paid C$1.00, but the C&E read that as C$100. I fought for months and finally got my money back (tax plus huge handling charge) It was the principle of the thing more than anything - I wasn't prepared to pay nearly $35 for a $1 roll of border because some oik didn't read the amount correctly.

So, is stuff bought from puritanspride.co.uk actually dispatched from USA then?

Ju

 

[catza]

Yup.

 

[Defren]

Yup.

From New York. (I only know this as my order arrived last week :lol: ). I have some Puritans Pride Gymnema that I ordered from Amazon, it is so much cheaper buying it from PP direct. Also my acai berry and Co Q10 are cheaper there as well.

Update on the Cinnamon. My BG is now only a tad (.2 - .4) higher than when I was doing the Newcastle diet and obviously my carbs are a good bit higher. I did think my next HbA1c might be a bit of a let down, and be in the low 5's compared to my last 4.9% but if the cinnamon keeps working I am heading to stay in the 4's. It's brilliant and I am thrilled.

 

[xyzzy]

So went through a period of very bad DP for me and for weeks kept waking up in the high 5's low 6's. Diet hadn't changed much so I looked at what else had changed. Most notably I'd given up the Cinnamon and as I ran out of Bitter Melon caps I had upped the Gymnema to compensate. For the last couple of weeks have given up the Gymnema entirely and reinstated around 2 grams of cinnamon with breakfast. Result morning fasting levels have come down to the low 5's which is where they were a while back. I'd originally thought cinnamon was taking around 0.5 of my fasting levels and this would tend to confirm it.

 

[Anonymous]

Can anyone on here taking Gymnema give some feedback on how it's going ?

 

[TUI]

I've just ordered the bitter melon and cinnamon supplements, it will be interesting. Only been testing my bloods for a week (not on drugs yet) and it seems first thing in the morning, apart from once at 6.8 can't get it below 7 to 7.2 in the morning even though I don't eat later than 7.30, strangely it hardly rises during the day.

 

[catza]

Can anyone on here taking Gymnema give some feedback on how it's going ?

Hi swimmer. I am still taking Gymnema though I did stop for 10 days last month to see what difference it made. My levels had been steady with no high spikes even when I expected them so I wanted to see if the control was generated by this supplement or if I had, in some way, conquered the dreaded diabetes.

It was the supplement.

After a week my +2 levels were straying into areas I wasn't happy with and I seemed to be craving sweet things. After 10 days I decided that I had to resume taking the Gymnema and within a couple of days my levels started to even out again. I don't do a lot of testing other than +2 these days but I am happy to continue taking Gymnema as I have had such positive results but I do intend to recheck every few months as my weight comes down to see whether it is still as effective.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Catza. And where are you buying it - online or in a health food shop?

 

[catza]

I get my supplements from Puritans Pride in America. The P&P are a tad high so it pays to order a fair quantity but so far the total prices have been far better than buying from a UK source. Delivery has been surprisingly fast ... a week to 10 days so far.

http://www.puritanspride.co.uk/

 

[xyzzy]

Gymnema certainly worked for me in the early days post diagnosis as an excellent supplement that stopped spikes. I've discovered recently that so long as I keep to my 60g / day regime then I can give it up as I believe my insulin resistance has now dropped enough that I am producing a reasonable amount of spike control myself. Like Cat I got mine in orders of 5 bottles at a time from Puritans as it works out by far the cheapest way. MW still takes a small daily dose as she swears by its appetite suppressant abilities.

 

[SweetHeart]

It's really good to hear the Gymnema is working for everyone - I was the one who put it on this thread to start with - so it's great that it's working. I must order more this week as MH and I are noticeably craving carbs since we stopped taking it a few weeks ago.

Ju

 

[catza]

Thanks for finding Gymnema for us Ju. It has really helped me. :thumbup: