Natural Diabetes Remedy: Bitter Melon

Bitter Melon - A Safe, Natural Diabetes Remedy
Compiled by Samuel Cortez

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) has a history of use as a food and a hypoglycemic agent. Many research studies have shown its effectiveness in helping ease the problem of
high blood sugar levels among diabetics.

But, because it is in the category of herbal or folk medicine, not many potential users are aware of the potential benefits it could bring them.

Dallas Realtor Gracie Cortez reports a positive experience with it in efforts to reverse her borderline diabetes. In the spring of 2010 her doctor said she was "on the doorstep of diabetes" and that if her sugar levels worsened, would have to take medication indefinitely.

 That was her wake up call. She started to jog (actually, walk briskly) thrice a week, stopped using sweetened beverages and changed to a less sugar-laden diet that included no white flour tortillas. A training class at a local health center showed how to estimate carbohydrates and which foods to eat to control diabetes.

She got a tester and began checking and logging her blood sugar levels. They showed signs of improvement, along with a slow, but steady weight loss. But her sugar numbers
still were not low enough.  

Then a colleague mentioned that he was in the same situation. Reluctant to go on medications, he had been told by a priest about a Vietnamese remedy for Diabetes called bitter melon.

Only one nearby store, an oriental foods supermarket sold the bags of herb and special pitcher/strainer used to brew the tea, which does not taste bitter even with no
sweetener added.

That produced an immediate 20 to 30 point improvement in her sugar levels, with no side effects. Online searches of herbal remedies confirmed that bitter melon in tea and fruit form have been used for centuries in oriental medicine to ease diabetes.

In India some doctors are so confident about the anti-diabetic effect of Bitter Melon that it is sometimes dispensed in hospitals to people suffering from diabetes. The department of Health in the Philippines has recommended Bitter Melon as one of the best herbal medicines for treating diabetes. While bitter melon can behave similarly to slow-acting animal insulins, it
is not advisable to substitute eating Bitter Melon for taking insulin. 

Natural Standard and the Harvard Medical School have looked into this remedy. "Bitter melon has been observed to have blood sugar-lowering effects, but there is limited research specifically using bitter melon in humans. Bitter melon juice, fruit and dried powder have been used to moderate hypoglycemic effects in small studies."

The U.S. National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health wrote:  "Momordica charantia(L.) (Cucurbitaceae) commonly known as bitter gourd or karela is a
medicinal plant, used in Ayurveda for treating various diseases, one of which is diabetes mellitus. In this study, various extract powders of the fresh and dried whole fruits were prepared and their blood glucose lowering effect compared by administrating them orally to
diabetic rats. The aqueous extract powder of fresh unripe whole fruits at a dose of 20mg/kg body weight was found to reduce fasting blood glucose by 48%, an effect comparable to that of glibenclamide, a known synthetic drug. This extract was tested for nephrotoxicity,
hepatotoxicity and biochemical parameters such as SGOT, SGPT and lipid profile. The extract did not show any signs of nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity as judged by histological and biochemical parameters.

Thus the aqueous extract powder of Momordica charantia, an edible vegetable, appears to be asafe alternative to reducing blood glucose."

Nutritional stores like vitamin shops may be a more convenient source for bitter melon. It may require effort to find a source and dosage that works, but considering the side effects and costs of pharmaceutical medicines, it seems very worthwhile to learn from the Chinese and Indian herbalists.

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12902059

http://bittermelon.org/heal/bittermelonanddiabetes

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/31402/348736.html?d=dmtContent