Bitter melon-sweet relief for diabetics

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bitter melon-sweet relief for diabetics
By 11ruecharlot
Bitter melon-nature’s little secret offers sweet relief for diabetics

Bitter melon is a strange bumpy skinned cucumber look alike vegetable you’ll find in Asian supermarkets. It has been around for a long time, known mostly in Asia where it has been used for food consumption and traditional medicinal properties. It is now emerging in the West as a strong natural way to combat sugar levels in diabetes. Although its strong bitter taste may be a bit foreign to the western palate, after a few meals, it kind of grows on you.



Bitter melon or also known as Bitter gourd, Karela and Momordica charantia., thrives in tropical regions, such as Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. It sounds like a wonder plant when one reads the various medicinal cures it bestows. Although high sugar levels found in diabetes is the most confirmed disease that bitter melon is documented to regulate, in numerous articles I’ve read it has been used for treatments of infections, cancer, leukemia, psoriasis and even in the treatment of HIV. Its status in these diseases are yet unconfirmed, but in controlling blood sugars in diabetics, the documentation proves conclusive.



At least 3 different types of compounds in the melon have been reported to have blood sugar lowering applications. Charantin, which is composed of mixed steroids, proves more effective than tolbutamide, an oral hypoglycemic drug, in lowering blood sugar. Polypeptide p is another insulin- like polypeptide which has blood sugar lowering capabilities. And lastly, compounds known as oleanolic acid glycosides have been found to improve glucose tolerance by preventing the absorption from the intestines. And if that wasn’t enough, it is rich in iron, twice the beta carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium as spinach, twice the potassium of bananas, and contains vitamins C and B 1 to 3, not to mention phosphorous and good dietary fiber. The days of Popeye’s can of spinach seem but a mere vitamin tablet compared to this power house of a fruit.



So widely accepted in the East, that in India, some doctors are so confident about the anti-diabetic effect of the melon that it is often dispensed in hospitals to people with diabetes. In the Philippines, the department of health has recommended bitter melon as one of the best herbal medicines for treating diabetes. My first introduction to the fruit was through a Filipino. As a diabetic, she consumes a commercially made tea made in the Philippines. Since then, as a borderline diabetic, I have started to consume the fruit and have seen it work quite quickly. There are many recipes for it on the internet that are tasty and the cooking tames the bitterness a bit, but I also juice it which carries a bit of a punch.



I’ve seen a few health food and vitamin stores promoting the bitter melon in capsule form on the internet, but in general, it still seems to remain as a medicinal unknown except in the Asian communities. I hope with this little article, diabetics and pre-disposed diabetics may take the opportunity to try a natural remedy before reaching for the injections. After all, it’s not just medicine, but food also. As the big man would say, “Oh how sweet it is”.