A STAPLE OF CHINESE and Indian cuisine, bitter melon lives up to its name. also know as bitter gourd, bitter apple and bitter cucumber, it's been used as a contraceptive, a treatment for psoriasis, and a variety of other purposes. Mainly though, it's been hailed for lowering blood sugar, and the fruit and seeds are loaded with chemicals that appear to have an impact on glucose or insulin.
Studies suggest bitter melon may work on several levels, such as boosting insulin secretion, improving the ability of cells to absorb glucose, and hindering the release of glucose from the liver. One of the largest studies of bitter melon in people with type 2 diabetes lasted only two days, but it caused significant drops in blood sugar for 100 participants within hours of drinking suspended vegetable pulp.
Herbalist often suggest taking it in juice (50ml is a typical daily dose), but if you don't like the bitter taste you can consider capsules instead. Look for products made from the fruit or seeds - the apparent source of bitter melon's effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment