Gymnema Leaf Extract to Control Diabetes Mellitus

There are so many people suffering from Diabetes Mellitus, which has considerably changed their lifestyle and their food habits. I have few close relatives and friends who are dependent on continuous medication, causing lot of psychological implications and financial burden for their life-long treatment.

Though there are many treatments available in modern-day medicine, the prehistoric humans treated themselves with what was available from nature. There are so many concoctions available in Ayurvedic and Siddha medicinal practices which provide solutions for every illness.

Gymnema Sylvestre leaf extract is one such solution for controlling and managing Diabetes Mellitus available in Ayurvedic and Siddha texts.

This instructable will guide you about Gymnema Sylvestre plant and how to prepare the leaf extract for consumption. I have also provided few links to websites which provide more information on this plant.

Step 1: Gymnema Sylvestre Plant

This plant is commonly known as Gymnema or Cow Plant in English. In Tamil we call it as "Sirukurinjan" (Just type 'Sirukurinjan' in google search and you will find results). Its Sanskrit name is "Meshashringi" which means ‘sugar destroyer’. In Hindi it is known as "Gurmar".

It is a climbing plant with evergreen leaves, growing in Southern & central parts of India and also in few other tropical countries. I have chewed a raw leaf to see how it tastes. it is plain and tasteless.

This plant is from the Family "Apocynaceae", and its Binomial name is "Gymnema Sylvestre". If you can't identify the plant yourself, please ask help from people, mostly elders, at your place who can identify it for you.

The following steps guide you on how to prepare the leaf extract.

Step 2: Harvest the Leaves

Harvest about 8 to 10 Gymnema leaves. Clean the leaves with water and cut them into pieces.

Step 3: Other Ingredients You Can Add

You can add few other ingredients to make the leaf extract tasteful. The Gymnema leaf does not have any taste. You can add few chopped onions (here, we have used shallots), Garlic cloves, half a teaspoon of cumin seed powder, half a teaspoon of Turmeric powder and a pinch of Asafoetida.

Step 4: Prepare the Concoction

This leaf extract is to be prepared on early morning and taken on empty stomach.

Take about three cups of water in a bowl.
Add the chopped leaves, onion and garlic.
Add cumin seed powder, turmeric powder and Asafoetida.
You can add a few grains of crystal salt if you like.

Boil this mix till the water content is reduced to one third, that is about one cup.

Step 5: Strain the Liquid

Allow the leaf extract to cool. Then using a strainer, strain out the liquid.

Take a glass of the leaf extract early morning in empty stomach. You need to take this concoction everyday to keep your blood sugar level under control.

Step 6: Bottom Line

This leaf extract is found to be very effective in controlling Diabetes Mellitus. You can check your blood sugar level while taking this extract to see the difference. A word of caution... Do not take any other medication for Diabetes while taking this leaf extract.

The following are some of the websites you can refer for more information on Gymnema Sylvestre plant.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC217095...

http://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Gymnema-...

http://www.himalayawellness.com/herbfinder/gymnema...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnema_sylvestre