What Is Banaba And Why Does It Help People Lose Weight?
If you just read that headline and thought I misspelled “banana,” you’d be wrong…I did not misspell banana.
As you can see, I spelled it correctly twice here; I’ve even got a spell-checking app to help make sure I don’t goof up on words that often (believe me, I’m not perfect).
Now since you’re confident I can spell banananna…I mean…banana…let me tell you about banaba leaf extract.
Banaba leaf extract comes from the banaba leaf – a plant native to the Philippines, India and other Asian countries – and has been used in medicine for a number of years for the management of blood sugar and diabetes.
In recent years, banaba leaf has been used to help people keep their blood sugar balanced, especially for those who are concerned about their blood sugar. This is because physicians (like myself) wanted something to help that didn’t have tons of side effects associated with it.
And boy does banaba leaf deliver…
The Secret Ingredient(s) In Banaba Leaf Doctors Rely On Revealed
One of the things you’re going to like about banaba leaf is how thoroughly it’s been tested.
Because it’s got such a long history of folk use, researchers have been quite curious to see what it is about this plant that makes it so effective.
Some of the earliest studies of banaba leaf are almost 80 years old. And since that first research study, multiple subsequent studies have been launched to figure out what makes this plant “tick.”
What we’ve learned so far is banaba leaf possesses a few special compounds that contribute to its ability to transform your health for the better.
One of the main compounds – the one we believe plays the lead role in healing – is called corosolic acid. Corosolic acid is believed to have a strong effect on blood sugar levels, can calm inflammation, is an antioxidant, and it even helps with protein kinase C inhibition activity.
The other compounds present in banaba leaf are ellagitannin (a polyphenol) called lagerstroemin.
However, I want to focus on corosolic acid; this is because it’s been tested in cell culture, animal, and human studies for efficacy.
So when you hear anything about banaba leaf helping maintain blood sugar levels, you can be confident there’s a large swath of evidence-based studies to support the claims.
Corosolic acid works directly on cells and affects how they absorb glucose once it’s introduced into the body. This process is known as “glucose uptake.” From what research shows, within 60 minutes of glucose introduction, corosolic acid will cause blood sugars to drop around 10-15%.
It’s believed the acid achieves this by regulating how glucose transporter proteins, especially GLUT4, react with blood glucose.
For millions of people in the U.S. this process is corrupted due to diet and physical inactivity. You might have heard of this corruption before...it’s called insulin resistance.
When the body doesn’t respond to insulin the way it was designed to, it causes some pretty severe downstream effects. These include massive spikes and dives in blood sugar, which then produce inflammation, fatigue, and a disruption in other hormone levels.
The good news is when you supplement with banaba leaf, it can help keepyour blood sugar levels balanced (and it does so without adverse side effects!).
There are quite a few studies on how corosolic acid affects blood glucose, and almost every one of them supports the claim that using it to help maintain blood sugar levels will result in positive results.
Take this study for instance…
In a study of ten people with less than perfect blood sugar levels, researchers supplied the subjects with an extract of banaba leaf standardized to 1% corosolic acid. The subjects were given anywhere from 32mg – 48mg of the banaba leaf extract daily for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, their blood glucose levels were measured.
The researchers noticed that in that short amount of time the extract had made their blood glucose levels drop 30%. That’s a huge improvement considering the only thing that had changed in their lives was the addition of the extract.
They did admit they weren’t sure if it was the corosolic acid that did this or if it was due to the tannins in the extract (or even a combination of the two).
But that’s where the next study comes in.
In a separate study, researchers took 12 subjects with great blood sugar levels and gave them extract of banaba leaf to see how it would affect their blood sugar.
Their baseline blood glucose levels were originally 104 mg/dL, which is well within the healthy range. Every day for two weeks they were given a capsule of banaba leaf extract with 10mg of corosolic acid standardized to 18%. When the researchers came back to check the subjects’ blood glucose levels, they noticed their fasting blood sugar had dropped an incredible 12%. Just so you know, those numbers don’t come easily unless something quite powerful is at work.
After they checked their fasting levels, they measured what their blood sugar would be shortly after eating. Here, too, they noted the same 12% drop in blood sugar. Pretty amazing!
Best yet, in both of these studies ZERO side effects were noted…which other treatments can’t say…
Again, the researchers admitted it could have been the tannins in the banaba leaf extract, or a combination of the tannins and the corosolic acid, that produced these amazing results.
However, with dozens of studies demonstrating similar findings, it’s safe to say whichever of the three it is there’ve been notable blood sugar drops when banaba leaf extract is taken.
And when blood sugar is kept normal and joins up with a healthy diet and good habits people are able to lose weight.
But here’s what’s even crazier about banaba leaf…
Helping keep blood sugar levels balanced isn’t all it’s been observed to do – there’s actually a lot more exciting research regarding this amazing product.
More Surprising Benefits Associated With Banaba Leaf
Further research into banaba leaf reveals this powerful plant is actually good for much more than helping out with keeping blood sugar levels normal.
As renowned nutraceutical expert Jon Barron writes:
“Researchers at Mukogawa Women’s University in Nishinomiya, Japan found that by the end of 10 weeks of treatment with banaba leaf, [helped lower] blood pressure, [improved] fat metabolism, and [calmed] the body’s inflammation levels.”
And then there’s what Medical Health Guide writes about banaba leaf and its ability to assist with weight loss (which isn’t surprising at all when you think about how it keeps blood sugar balanced):
“Banaba herbal tea is also used for sustained weight-loss management. The corosolic acid in Banaba leaves and flowers acts by delaying and reducing the absorption of carbohydrates by the body. Continued drinking of banaba tea causes weight loss without any side effects.
In a group study that has been conducted for Glucosol™-a US patent drug containing corosolic acid. There was a reduction of weight for diabetic subjects. Similar study was done for non-diabetics and it was found that corosolic acid does not alter either the absorption or clearance of blood sugar in non-diabetic subjects, while retaining its weight-loss effect.”
And that’s not all. Banaba leaf is also currently being researched for its ability to help support:
- kidney health
- blood pressure
- urinary function (helps ease urination)
- cholesterol level
- Gastrointestinal function
And more.
As you might suspect, when it comes to banaba leaf extract it’s important to get the purest, most advanced formulation possible.
That’s why when we were developing our new banaba leaf line, we turned to the same company who’s helped us make our other high-quality herbs and supplement blends.
If you’re a patient of ours or are getting our e-mails, you can get your very own banaba leaf supplement by clicking here or clicking the image below.
Talk soon,
Dr. Wiggy
www.HealthAsItOughtToBe.com