With over 5,000 years of experience in healing disease with wild-growing, naturally occurring vegetable or fruit derived solutions, East Indians have a greater knowledge and acceptance of natural remedies, and a reluctance to use synthetic, prescription drugs.

Product recalls of diabetes pharmaceutical products, such as Avandia, are causing more and more U.S. diabetics to seek out alternative remedies from holistic providers, instead braving the side effects of the medicine of their more traditional Western doctors.

From Indian perspective, one of the most demanded products to reduce diabetes-related problems, such as fatty weight gain and high cholesterol, comes from India. It's called Garcinia Cambogia - a purplish, pumpkin-like fruit that grows wild in the Southern Indian region.

Many of the Indian in North America remember this fruit from their parents and grand parents using it at home. Now we're finding more and more non-Indian diabetics are finding out about the benefits of Garcinia cambogia, and are becoming fanatics about the product - it works well, without side effects, toxicity or drug interaction problems.

The FDA Challenged

Several years ago, a leading U.S. importer and processor of the highest grade, Garcinia Cambogia was challenged by the U.S. FDA, for the weight and cholesterol claims made by them.

The FDA questioned the efficacy of these claims and demanded documentation. The importer, Benecia, California-based Interhealth, was able to produce clinical studies, conducted at respected medical institutions, such as Harvard Medical Center, and independent testing facilities, including the Burdock Group.

What these studies and reports showed was that the claims about Garcinia Cambogia were true and supported by the studies - it is both effective and safe for use (in the short and long term).

But, you don't need to tell someone from India about documentation of Garcinia cambogia benefits. They've been successfully using it for many generations.

How does it work?

The dried fruit rind of Garcinia cambogia is a rich source of HCA. Amazingly, it has also been used in more recent centuries as a spice, flavor-enhancer, preservative and digestive aid throughout Southeast Asia.

Thus, it has a long history of consumption by the peoples in countries where the plant is native. Structurally, HCA is similar to the common food additive citric acid, which also occurs naturally in citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons. Some forms of HCA have demonstrated a much higher bioavailability in humans; so all HCA is not equal.

A primary mode of HCA action appears to be its ability to inhibit ATP-citrate lyase, an enzyme that helps to form the building blocks of fatty acids and cholesterol.

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