Gymnema Sylvestre
(juhm·nee·muh sil·veh·struh), noun.
Origin: Central and western India, tropical Africa, and Australia.
Nickname: Destroyer of sugar.
Gymnema sylvestre is a slow-growing, perennial woody climber with elliptical leaves and a smattering of pale yellow flowers. This medicinal plant also goes by the name gurmar, meaning “destroyer of sugar” in Hindi. Though its colloquial name may sound aggressive, this vine’s nutritional superpower plays nice with our bodies’ natural rhythms and systems—which is why it's a key ingredient in our best-selling Metabolism Super Powder. It’s one of the trusted tools we implement when it feels like our sweet tooth is overpowering and swinging out of balance. But how does it work?
Gymnema Syvlestre’s Secret
The Ayurvedic plant is made of compounds called gymnemic acids which have been studied to have anti-diabetic, anti-sweetener, and anti-inflammatory properties. Not only do they delay glucose absorption in the blood, but these acids are naturally arranged to resemble glucose molecules. The sugar destroyer is the master of disguise, able to fool your taste buds into thinking they’ve gotten their sugar fix when in reality, the craving has been filled by a potent, bitter plant. Once its work is done on your taste buds, the acids continue down the digestive tract and fill sugar receptors along the outer lining of your small intestine. This prevents glucose absorption and regulates blood sugar levels, which supports hormones, reduces inflammation, and soothes your stress response.
Cravings, Decoded
To put it simply—what you eat determines what you crave. So when you consume highly processed foods that are heavy-handed with refined sugar, not only are you creating an environment primed for candida growth (and accompanying bloat, skin irritations, chronic fatigue, and yeast infections), but you’re training your gut flora—the 100 trillion bacteria residing in your gut that pilot your overall health—to operate in a vicious loop of craving simple sugars.
The good news is the processed sugar cycle is nowhere near as clever as nature’s divine intervention.
How To Break The Cycle
You can outsmart your cravings and break up with sugar; focus not on what to eliminate from your plate, but rather on which nutrients you need in abundance. Leafy greens, organic fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and plenty of water-rich foods will help to balance your gut flora and retrain your taste buds. In a 2016 study conducted by the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition, it was reported that people who ate a low-sugar diet perceived candy as 40% sweeter than their high-sugar counterparts, indicating the power of our taste buds as they acclimate to processed sweets. All to say, changing up your regimen will lead you (and the microbes in your gut) to undo the dullness that processed foods have done to your taste buds, and eventually lead you to crave nutrient-dense, naturally sweet foods. This way, summertime strawberries will pack a more satisfying, saccharine punch over syrupy, synthetic candies.
the processed sugar cycle is nowhere near as clever as nature’s divine intervention.
Retrain Your Palate, Joyfully
Incorporate gymnema sylvestre into your daily regimen and break the sugar cycle with Metabolism Super Powder. Bonus: this functional blend is rich in cacao, providing a delicious chocolate flavor that factors joy into the equation as you make new, more mindful choices.
A closer look at the five transformational, plant-powered ingredients:
- Gymnema sylvestre: an Ayruvedic herb that helps to block sugar cravings, aids in regulating cortisol, and encourages stable blood sugar levels.
- Fucoxanthin: a youth-promoting antioxidant derived from Atlantic brown seaweed, which has been clinically studied to change protein expression of fat tissue and improve your resting metabolic rate. It activates your lipid metabolism to transform stubborn, white fat cells into brown fat cells containing “heat engines” that burn as fuel instead of stagnant storage.
- L-glutamine: an essential amino acid that rebuilds the gut lining, increases energy, supports digestion, and aids gymnema sylvestre with curbing sugar cravings.
- Horsetail extract: a natural diuretic, rich in silica, that eliminates bloat and reduces inflammation.
- Black pepper piperine: an active compound that works synergistically to aid digestion, quell inflammation, and stimulate blood flow to flush waste.
Stir Metabolism Super Powder into coffee for an upleveled latte, blend into smoothies for a functional chocolate boost, and mix with oats or baking batter for a plant-rich dose of decadence. Enjoy the most delicious breakup you’ll likely ever have. It can be as simple as six ingredients and as quick as 30 seconds with the recipe below.
Ingredients
- 8-12 ounces freshly brewed hot organic coffee
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond mylk
- 1 teaspoon coconut butter
- 1 packet or scoop of Metabolism Super Powder
- 1-2 drops vanilla extract
- Dash of cinnamon
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend for 30 seconds to one minute, or until frothy. Alternatively, combine ingredients in a wide-mouth jar or coffee thermos and use an immersion blender to combine and froth. Enjoy!
MORE RECIPES TO ADD GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE IN YOUR ROUTINE:
9 Ways to Enjoy Metabolism Super Powder
The Maca-Mocha Metabolism Brew
