Bitter Melon And Diabetes

Bitter melon, or bitter Gourd as it is sometimes called, is a popular vegetable in many parts of the world. It has been used as a medicine and cooking in many countries in South East Asia and Latin America for centuries.

It's botanical name is Mormordica Charantia.

Mormodica from the Latin for bitter

Charantia is Greek for beautiful flower.

The fruit of the bitter melon looks like a large zucchini but has a light green skin that is distinctively rough and pockmarked. One of it's medicinal qualities is said to be the lowering of blood sugar levels in the body.

Many tests and experiments have been run on bitter melon to confirm it's hypoglycemic effects on the body. Many of these test have been done in the Philippines, where bitter melon is not only used as a medicine but is a popular vegetable for cooking.

A well documented experiment took place at the St Luke's Hospital in the capital of the Philippines, Quezon City. Two test groups were given a tea to drink after their regular meal. The control group was given an ordinary tea whilst the test group was given bitter melon tea. Over a period of 24 weeks the tests were run and each person's blood sugar levels were monitored. It was concluded that the people consuming the bitter melon tea had lowered their blood sugar more consistently than the control group.

Other experiments have confirmed this finding that bitter melon can be used to control blood sugar levels. Although researchers don't know why bitter melon has this affect there are a few theories :

Bitter melon may help the beta cells in the pancreas recover. Beta cells create insulin that is the body's normal way of dealing with high blood sugar levels. In type 1 diabetes the beta cells are thought to be destroyed by the immune system as part of an autoimmune disorder. Bitter melon may counteract this process.

Another idea is that bitter melon helps the liver to use or store glucose. Excess glucose in the blood is converted to glycogen in the body in the muscle, fat and liver cells. The by-product of this process is that the blood sugar level is reduced. In diabetics this does not happen because there is no insulin to perform this function or it does not work properly.

The third theory is related to the first, in that the vegetable or active ingredient in the vegetable activates insulin secretion. This could be seen as more useful to people with type 2 diabetes because they are essentially insulin resistant. Although we do not know why the body becomes insulin resistant it could be that the insulin is not secreted at the proper time.

Bitter melon can be taken in food. The fruit of the bitter melon can be used as part of a stir fry or added to a soup. It is especially popular in Asian countries like Laos, Thailand and the Philippines where there are many recipes for bitter melon cooking.

Another popular method is to take it in the form of a drink. It could be liquidized and added to a fruit or the dried extract of the bitter melon can be taken hot in a tea form. There are many supplements available on the market these days

Bitter melon is sometimes known as vegetable insulin because it has the same or similar effects as animal insulin on the body. If you want to try bitter melon then consult your doctor. He/she will probably suggest you try it in conjunction with you current treatment/medication. You can then analyze the results of your blood sugar over the period. If it is significantly better you could modify the treatment.

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