Apparently, the bitter melon is one of the most beneficial fruits on the planet, and its potent medicinal properties have been valued and used in the East for centuries.
This amazing fruit has been traditionally used to treat a wide range of diseases, like fever, diarrhea, malaria, kidney stones, high blood pressure, painful menstruation, skin infections, colic, glaucoma, stomach cramps, high cholesterol levels, and hemorrhoids.
It is a rich source of proteins, acids, peptides, alkaloids, glycoside, momordine, cucurbitins, charantin, cucurbitacins, and momorcharins.
It is believed that the primary components in charge of the hypoglycemic properties include charantin, momordicin, cucurbutanoids, and oleanolic acids. Recently, scientists have found that bitter melons have potent hypoglycaemic and anticancer properties.
BITTER MELON AND DIABETES
The researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica have discovered the efficacy of treating Type 2 diabetes with bitter melon.
Bitter melon contains certain chemical compounds that activate AMPK which encourages the movement of glucose transporters to the surface of cells.
“More transporters on cells’ surfaces increase the uptake of glucose from circulation in the blood into tissues of the body, such as muscle, thus lowering blood sugar levels.”
In the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers concluded that, “Bitter melon had a modest hypoglycemic effect and significantly reduced fructosamine levels from the baseline among patients with type-2 diabetes who received 2,000 mg/day. However, the hypoglycemic effect of bitter melon was less than metformin at 1,000 mg/day.”
BITTER MELON AND BREAST CANCER
According to another study from the University of Saint Louis, bitter melon extract can trigger a chain of events on a cellular level that can stop breast cancer cells from proliferation. The lead scientist on the study concluded that “bitter melon extract modulates several signal transduction pathways, which induces breast cancer cell death. This extract can be utilized as a dietary supplement for the prevention of breast cancer.”
The fruit can be eaten raw or added to smoothies. You can also find bitter melon supplements in almost all health stores.
