Diabetes World Day
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Bitter Melon – Benefits, Medicinal Properties
Bitter melon is reported to help in the treatment of diabetes and psoriasis. It has also been reported that Bitter Melon may help in the treatment of HIV
Bitter Melon is the English name of Momordica charantia. Bitter melon is also known under the names Karela and Bitter gourd. Bitter melon grows in tropical regions, including parts of East Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and America South, where it is used as a food and a medicine. This is a cucumber-shaped fruit with green gourd like bumps all over. It looks like an ugly, light green cucumber. The fruit should be firm like a cucumber. And it tastes very bitter. Although the seeds, leaves, and vines bitter melon have all been used, the fruit is the safest and most common part of the plant used in medicine. The leaves and fruit have both been used occasionally to make teas and beer or to season soups in the Western world.
Does bitter melon have properties remedies?
Bitter Melon was traditionally used for an impressive range of conditions by people in tropical regions. Many infections, cancer, leukemia, and diabetes are among the most common ailments, it was believed to improve. Bitter melon is reported to help in treatment of diabetes and psoriasis. It was also found that bitter melon can help in the treatment of HIV, but the evidence to date is too weak to even consider. The ripe fruit of bitter melon has been suggested to explain some of the remarkable anti-cancer effects, but there is absolutely no evidence that it can treat cancer. However, preliminary studies seem to confirm that Bitter Melon may improve glycemic control in People with the adult (type 2) diabetes.
Is it true that bitter melon capsules are effective in lowering blood sugar of diabetics?
The antihypertensive action of fresh juice of green bitter melon has been confirmed in scientific studies in animals and humans. At least three different groups of constituents in bitter melon have been reported to have hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering) or other actions of potential benefit in diabetes mellitus. These include a mixture of steroidal saponins known as charantin, insulin-like peptides and alkaloids. It is unclear which is the most effective or if all three work together. Nonetheless, Bitter Melon preparations have been shown to significantly improve glucose tolerance without increasing blood insulin levels, and improve fasting glucose levels.
Rich iron, bitter melon has twice the beta carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, twice the potassium of bananas, and contains vitamins C and B 1 to 3, phosphorus and good dietary fiber. It is believed to be good for the liver and has been proven by western scientists to contain insulin, act as a an anti-tumor and inhibit infection by HIV-1.
On at least 32 active ingredients have been identified in bitter melon so far, including beta-sitosterol-d-glucoside, citrulline, GABA, lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthin. Nutritional analysis reveals that bitter melon is also rich in potassium, calcium, iron, beta-carotene, vitamins B1 and B2, B3 and C.
Even more effective than traditional drug in lowering blood sugar!
Recently Ministry of Health of the Philippines recommended bitter melon as one of the best herbal remedies for diabetes management. And many Clinical studies have clearly established the role of bitter melon in people with diabetes. Scientists have now identified three groups of constituents that are thought to be responsible for sugar in the blood of his "descent" of action.
One of these, a compound called charantin, which is composed of mixed steroids, was considered more effective than the oral hypoglycaemic drug, tolbutamide, in reducing blood glucose.
Another, an insulin-like polypeptide, called polypeptide P, appears to lower blood sugar in type I (insulin-dependent) diabetics, while alkaloids present in fruits have also been noted for having a blood sugar lowering effect. For now, researchers are unclear as to which of these compounds is more effective or whether it is the synergistic effect of all three. Further research is needed to understand how these compounds actually work.
Compounds known as oleanolic acid glycosides have been found to improve glucose tolerance in type II (adult onset) diabetes by preventing the absorption of sugar from the intestines. Bitter melon has also been reported to increase the number of beta cells (cells that secrete insulin) in the pancreas, which enhances the ability of your body to produce insulin (insulin promotes the absorption your blood sugar by the cells and tissues).
Evidence:
An Indian study published two days in 1999 examined bitter melon effect on 100 people with type 2 diabetes. On both days, the researchers tested the participants at fasting and after drinking glucose. Participants took 150 to 200 MI bitter melon extract, the second day. On that day, the researchers found that 86 percent of participants had an average decrease of 14 percent of the blood glucose after fasting and after drinking glucose.
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