Momordica Charantia and Diabetes Control (Facts about Bitter Melon)

Posted by jagveer singh on March 9th, 2019

Doctors and researchers have been studying the relationship between momordica charantia and diabetes control for several years. Since it's eaten fairly commonly in Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean, one medical concern has been over possible momordica charantia side effects. Here, we provide an explanation of the plant and an overview of its historical and present day uses, in addition to highlights of research about momordica charantia and diabetes.

Momordica charantia, commonly called Bitter melon, bitter gourd or Karela, is a vegetable that grows on a vine and is similar looking, at the least externally, to a cucumber. The flavor, as the most popular names imply, is quite bitter, becoming moreso while the fruit ripens and eventually becoming impossible to eat.

In China, it may also be used as a component in stir fries, soups and teas. In Pakistan and India, it's prepared with potatoes and served with yogurt or stuffed with spices and fried in oil. In the Philippines, where in fact the shoots and leaves are employed for salad greens and the melon is served in several dishes, it is recognized as ampalaya. Also, in the Philippines, bitter melon dosage tea can be used among the indegent for controlling high glucose levels and diabetes.

The understanding that there was a relationship between momordica charantia and diabetes control likely began by having an ancient system of medicine known as Ayurvedic. This method of medicine dates back to at least 1000BC and is widely practiced throughout much of India today. Doctors of Ayurvedic Medicine take a holistic way of the treatment of all diseases, concentrating on mind, body and spirit, as opposed to the body alone. Thus, they don't consider momordica charantia a "cure" for diabetes, but merely one element used in treating the condition and its complications.

In just about any system of medicine, it is important that doctors and patients discuss diet and the use of over-the-counter remedies. Concerns over momordica charantia side effects are due largely to too little communication between many doctors and their patients. Also, there's too little understanding about natural remedies for diseases, i.e. momordica charantia and diabetes control.

Published Research

Through the years, researchers studying the connection between momordica charantia and diabetes, glucose levels, glucose tolerance, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, etc. have noted the following:

o In 1981, "These results show that karela improves glucose tolerance in diabetes," was published in the British Medical Journal.

o In 1981, in the Journal of Natural Products, "A hypoglycemic peptide, polypeptide-p, has been isolated from fruit, seeds and tissue of momordica charantia...is a very effective hypoglycemic agent when administered subcutaneously to gerbils, langurs and humans."

o In 1985, at the Foundation for Diabetes Research in Edinburgh, it was discovered that the only momordica charantia negative effects in normal mice were improved glucose tolerance. In diabetic mice, "the degree of hyperglycemia was reduced by 50% after 5 hours.

o In 1986, in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, "The juice of Momordica charantia was found to significantly improve glucose tolerance of 73% of patients investigated.

o In 1988 at the Department of Biochemistry in Asarva, India, it absolutely was discovered that alongside lowering blood sugar, positive momordica charantia negative effects included delayed formation of diabetic cataracts in an animal study. A later study in 2002 confirmed these results.

o In 1993, a study concerning momordica charantia negative effects indicates that there's no hypoglycemic affect in non-diabetic controls, food intake is normal, growth and weight are normal, i.e. no negative side effects.

Involving the years of 1989 and 2006, there has been at the very least 40 different animal studies just like the ones mentioned above concerning momordica charantia and diabetes control, all with positive results. As the years have gone by, focus has shifted from if it works to how it works and what is the appropriate dosage. In the latest published research, in 2007, scientists asked for extra large scale placebo controlled clinical trials. If these studies can become a the truth is unknown, but is unlikely, because the plant extract is already widely available in non-prescription dietary supplements.

Additional positive momordica charantia side effects that have been noted over the years include lowering total cholesterol, protecting the kidneys and other organs from damage through anti-oxidant activity, stimulating amino acid uptake into muscles, improving energy and improving appetite. Researchers have mentioned that momordica charantia may "favorably impact the aging process ".

In Ayurvedic Medicine, it might be referred to as plant insulin. Scientific evaluation has confirmed the presence of a protein just like bovine insulin and that, in the laboratory; it "acts" like insulin.