The third magic bullet is Gymnema sylvestre, an herb from India. Its name means sugar destroyer and that is exactly what it does. Regular blood tests show this herb can work wonders with glucose levels.
If you are diabetic, you know that a test called hemoglobin A1c is a measure of your average blood sugar level over several weeks. Lower levels indicate better blood sugar control. High levels mean long-term damage to your body.
A recent study showed the herb works well even in type-1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes). In the study, researchers gave 400 mg per day of the herb to each participant. They saw the participants hemoglobin A1c decrease from 12.8% to 8.2% in 26-30 months. (That is unheard of! According to most doctors, the only treatment that works for type-1 diabetes is insulin.) In type-2 diabetics, it dropped from 11.9% to 8.5% at 20 months.
This study also found that the Gymnema extract reduced insulin requirements by about 50%. Each of the 27 type-1 patients in the study was able to reduce their insulin dose by an average of 15 units. Five of 22 type-2 diabetics were able to discontinue their oral drugs.
There is one caution with this herbal extract: If you are on oral diabetic drugs, Gymnema is so effective your drug dosage will likely need to be adjusted. So take it under the care of an integrative physician.