From the oldest of all medicinal systems, Ayurveda (produced eye-yuhr-VAY-dah), comes one of the newest fat-burners available, guggul, referred to as “gulgulipid” in the scientific literature. It potentially offers an easy, no-willpower way to shed excess weight and even restore youthful curves by helping your body incinerate excess fat and calories throughout the day.

Guggul (commiphora mukul) is an extract purified from the sap of a small, thorny tree native to India. For centuries, the resin was used as a folk medicine in India to treat intestinal ailments, urinary problems, rheumatism, and obesity. Its active components are two natural plant steroids known as Z-guggulsterone and E-guggulsterone. Supplements in extract form are usually standardized to contain a minimum of 2.5 percent total guggulsterones.

Guggul is often formulated with other nutrients, including chromium, HCA, and various herbs.

Guggul May Be a Fat-Burner

In animal studies conducted more than 30 years ago, a scientist in India discovered that test animals lost weight after being given guggul. This sparked interest in guggul as a fat-loss agent.

How guggul actually works in this regard is unclear, but scientists speculate that it exerts its effect partially through the activity of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland sets the rate at which the breakdown of food into energy (metabolism) takes place, and secretes various hormones. Guggul appears to spark thyroid activity by increasing levels of these hormones. When thyroid function is revved up, the body’s metabolic rate is increased, leading to more efficient fat-burning. It is also believed that guggul may stimulate the activity of brown fat the fat that burns white fat.

One landmark study conducted in 1990 reported “significant weight loss” in research with seventy guggul-supplemented subjects. Also reported were considerable body composition changes, including less fat under the skin and trimmed-down hip and waist circumferences.

Guggul also works well when combined with another Ayurvedic supplement, triphala. Triphala, which means “three fruits,” is an herbal preparation consisting of three different plants, amla (Emblica officinalis), bibitaki (Terminalia belerica), and haritaki (Terminalia chebula). It is a laxative and an antioxidant. When forty-eight obese volunteers took 500 mg of guggul and triphala three times a day for 3 months, they shed an average of 18 pounds all without changing their eating habits. Additionally, their total cholesterol count fell 18 points.

The subject of hundreds of scientific studies, guggul is praised for its ability to support healthy cholesterol levels nutritionally. Studies have found that the supplement is effective and safe for lowering LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while maintaining or improving HDL cholesterol. In fact, it is as effective as the synthetic drug clofibrate, used to treat high cholesterol, but demonstrates better compliance and produces fewer side effects.

Studies using 25 mg of gugulipid taken three times a day have shown that cholesterol levels will drop 14 to 27 percent in 1 to 3 months, while triglyceride levels will fall by 22 to 30 percent. Further, gugulipid has been found to prevent the formation of atherosclerosis (a build-up of fatty deposits), as well as reduce existing deposits.

Guggul appears capable of improving cholesterol and triglyceride profiles, and may even reverse atherosclerosis in the aorta, the main artery from which refreshed blood leaves the left chamber of the heart.

In a study of 200 patients with ischemic heart disease, guggul demonstrated several heart-protective effects:

Electrocardiogram patterns were restored to normal, blood fats were significantly reduced, and cardiac irregularities were reduced.

Guggul May Help Treat Acne

Acne can be a chronic problem affecting teenagers and adults alike. It occurs when the hair follicles of the skin become plugged, often leading to infection. In serious cases, the infection responds to treatment with the commonly prescribed antibiotic tetracycline. But this medicine has various side effects, including dizziness, lightheadedness, sore joints, and anemia, and thus should not be taken long-term.

An alternative approach may prove to be supplementation with guggul. In a 1994 study, twenty people with cystic acne (a serious form of the disease) were treated with either 500 mg of tetracycline or 25 mg of guggulsterone. Both regimens were taken twice a day for 3 months. By the end of the study, it was found that guggulsterone was slightly more effective than tetracycline in treating acne. Also, patients with the oiliest complexions responded better to the guggul preparation.

Author Bio: Georgiy Kharchenko – natural weight loss, phentramin-d reviews, vitamins supplements

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