As you know that, bitter gourd is a popular vegetable in some Asian countries, where the
health benefits of the plant are well-known particularly, its ability to lower
blood glucose in diabetics. Bitter gourd has been used to treat diabetes in
traditional medicine and is now commercially available as tea (from fruits or
leaves), juice, extracts, and pills. Although these products promise health
benefits, most of the manufacturers do not offer scientifically proven data on
the effectiveness of bitter gourd or their products.
However, in recent years
researchers worldwide have started to focus on the antidiabetic effects of
bitter gourd. The goal is to provide safe and clear preparation and dosage
recommendations so that consumers will realize the greatest benefit from
consuming fresh bitter gourd or bitter gourd products.
It is scientifically
proven: bitter gourd lowers blood glucose levels!
Bitter gourd treatments of cell cultures or feeding trials with
laboratory animals such as mice or rats show bitter gourd does have blood
glucose lowering properties. Bitter gourd is not like most medicinal drugs,
which are effective only in one target organ or tissue; rather, it influences
glucose metabolism all over the body.
Bitter gourd lowers dietary carbohydrate digestion
The glucose metabolism starts in the gut. Carbohydrates and sugars are
metabolized to glucose (one type of sugar) before glucose is transported from
the gut to the blood. Bitter gourd reduces the amount of glucose that is
released into the blood by inhibiting the enzymes that break down disaccharides
to two monosaccharides (e.g. glucose) (Oishi et al. 2007, Kumar Shetty et al.
2005). Bitter gourd can influence the transport channels for glucose, which also
reduces glucose transport into the blood (Singh et al. 2004). This effect is
important for the treatment of both Type I and Type II diabetic patients and
helps to prevent high blood sugar levels after meals.
Bitter gourd plant insulin discovered
The pancreas reacts to increasing blood sugar levels by secreting insulin
into the blood. Insulin helps to transport the sugar from the blood to the
skeletal muscle and the fat tissue where it is used to produce energy. Insulin
will also stop the liver to produce sugar from glycogen storages and to release
the sugar into the blood.
Thus, insulin is necessary to lower high blood sugar levels. In Type I
diabetes, also called insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas does not produce
or secrete enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels low. Bitter gourd has been
shown to be effective in treating Type I diabetes in rats or mice by increasing
pancreatic insulin secretion Yibchok-Anun et al. 2006, Fernandes et al. 2007).
Additionally, scientists found an insulin-like molecule in bitter gourd (Khanna
et al. 1981). Although bitter gourd may reduce the number of insulin injections
required to manage Type 1 diabetes, it cannot replace insulin treatment
completely or heal this form of the disease.
Bitter gourd reverses insulin resistance
Bitter gourd can play a role in the prevention and treatment of Type II
diabetes, which is also called insulin-independent diabetes or adult onset
diabetes. This form of the disease usually occurs in people who are overweight
and inactive. In Type II diabetes, the liver, skeletal muscle, and fat tissues
do not respond adequately to insulin they are “insulin resistant.” Feeding
trials with insulin resistant or Type II diabetic rats and mice have shown that
bitter gourd helps to prevent or reverse insulin resistance (Nerurkar et al.
2008, Klomann et al. 2010). People with insulin resistance or those with a high
risk of developing Type II diabetes have a good chance to prevent and treat the
disease without drugs by increasing their physical activity and changing their
diet.
Bitter gourd prevents diabetic complications
Chronically high sugar concentrations from Type I and Type II diabetes
increase the risk of inflammation and oxidation in the whole body, leading to
blindness, diabetic feet, kidney disease, stroke, or heart attack. Consuming
bitter gourd can help prevent these complications, as it not only decreases
blood sugar levels, but also has some antioxidative properties (Sathishsekar und
Subramanian 2005, Klomann et al. 2010).
Bitter gourd can protect the body from other non-communicable diseases
Being overweight is one of the most important risk factors for diabetes
and other diseases, and Type II diabetes is often accompanied by hypertension,
high plasma cholesterol, or high plasma lipids. Together, these conditions
increase the risk of stroke or heart attack. For overweight Type II diabetic
patients, bitter gourd can help to improve health. In mice and rats, bitter
gourd has been shown to reduce hypertension (Singh et al. 2004), plasma
cholesterol (Nerurkar et al. 2008), and plasma lipids (Nerurkar et al. 2008).
Apart from this, bitter gourd helps weight loss. There is also evidence that
bitter gourd might be effective in cancer treatment.
| Vegetable Shop |
More bitter gourd does not help more. Please be careful!
Exclusive consumption of bitter gourd, bitter gourd juice, or other
bitter gourd products can lead to dangerous hypoglycemia when consumed by
diabetic patients under oral drug treatment, in too high dosages, by children,
or on a hungry stomach. Pregnant or breastfeeding woman should not consume
bitter gourd or bitter gourd products. Although bitter gourd can help prevent
insulin resistance or severe diabetic complications, it is important to consider
situations in which bitter gourd may be harmful to your
health.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment