Anti-diabetic properties of bittermelon

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Bitter melon or bitter gourd originated from India and was introduced to many parts of the world. It is widely known for its medicinal benefits. Let's see the top 3 scientifically proven benefits of bitter gourd or  "Momordica charantia". 

 

1.     Acts as a natural anti-diabetic

Two studies have proven that bitter gourd helps in diabetes mellitus by working the same way as diabetic medications. 

Study by Chandru S et al compared the efficacy of bitter gourd juice and glitazone (a type of diabetic drug) in diabetic rats. In animal studies, it is shown that bitter gourd juice had reduction in blood sugar and was comparable with glitazone. 

Authors of this study postulate that bitter gourd juice works by increasing insulin sensitivity and causing the pancreas to secrete more insulin. 

"Bitter gourd juice proves to reduce blood sugar level"

Study by Rahman IU et al also reported similar findings among patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. 95 patients in this study took 2g (60mls) or 4g(120mls) of bitter gourd juice daily for 10 weeks. Both groups had blood sugar reduction. Their HBA1C level dropped along with fasting blood glucose level. 

Fuangchan A et al studied the effect of bitter melon and compared it to Metformin 1g, a standard first line medication for diabetes mellitus type 2. They proved that bitter melon juice has blood sugar reducing properties but not as strong as Metformin. This suggests that bitter melon juice can be used as supplement for sugar control in people with diabetes.

2. Added values in people with complications of diabetes

Raish M et al studied the effects of bitter melon juice  on the progression of diabetic kidney disease. Normally in patients with uncontrolled diabetes, many complications develop over time. 

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Kidney failure is one of it, and it causes many patients to be dependent on dialysis machine for the rest of their life. Other than that some patients develop nerve problems, in which patients will feel numbness and tingling over their feet. Some may even lose balance.

In his study, it was shown that bitter melon given by mouth improves kidney function in rats. Scientists suggest that bitter melon provides kidney protection by reducing the high sugar level and also by reducing the oxidative damages to kidney. But more research will be needed to find out if bitter gourd will be effective in patients with complications.  

Study by Kim JW also proves that kidney functions improves with bitter melon juice . This study

focuses mainly on combined effect of oats and bitter melon on sugar level and diabetic nephropathy. But significant reduce in blood sugar and protective effects on kidneys are shown even in rats that were only treated with bitter melon juice. But again, this study did not talk on those with established kidney disease. 

From preliminary information available largely from animal studies, it appear that bitter melon juice helps in reduction of blood sugar level and prevention of diabetic kidney disease. Bitter melon juice has anti-oxidant properties and anti-diabetic properties which help to achieve this. 

How to prepare fresh bitter melon juice

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Use unripe fresh bitter melon

Wash thoroughly, cut the melon and remove the seeds

 Use electric juicer to extract the juice

This method is used in the study by scientists Rahman et al.  

They prepared the bitter melon juice in this manner, and proceeded to freeze it to make it into powder form but it' s not necessary for personal use. 

They discovered anti-diabetic benefits at 2g of bitter gourd juice powders. 2g of powder is equivalent to 60mls of bitter gourd juice. 

For further reading:

Lower hypoglycemic but higher antiatherogenic effects of bitter melon than glibenclamide in type 2 diabetic patients.

Hypoglycemic effect of bitter melon compared with metformin in newly diagnosed type 2  diabetes patients

Synergic effects of bitter melon and β-Glucan composition on STZ-induced rat diabetes and its complications.

Momordica charantia polysaccharides mitigate the progression of STZ induced diabetic nephropathy in rats.

Evaluation of Protein Kinase Cβ and PPARγ Activity in Diabetic Rats Supplemented with Momordica charantia

3 Main Benefits of Black Cumin

Black cumin has been a favorite spice among medical researchers for the past 40 years. There seems to be an endless number of benefits that black cumin provide, but in this post I am going to focus on three important health issues that are prevalent in our society.

By Mountainhills (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

1.Diabetes Mellitus

As many of us are aware, Diabetes is a disease that slowly kills us. It damages almost every part of our body, especially when the blood sugar level is poorly controlled.

Black cumin contains a chemical called Thymoquinone. This "oil" has been extensively studied and have been proven to have many healing properties, which includes lowering blood glucose level.

A clinical trial by Kaatbi H et al which was done in India proves that when give 2g of black cumin on daily basis, Type 2 diabetic patients have reduction in the blood sugar level. This was proven with reduced fasting blood glucose level (the baseline sugar in our blood) and HBA1C (a parameter used by doctors to assess diabetic control over 3 months). 

"Black cumin is a supplement which helps in blood sugar control"

We are not sure on how it works, but an important fact to note is that, throughout this trial, all patients were still on oral medications. That means, black cumin is only a supplement which helps in blood sugar control, and we can't depend on it solely.

Another review by Hesmati J echoes the same finding, suggesting black cumin can be further studied to find the optimal dose ,and route of ingestion.

2. High cholesterol level

With our high fat containing food, we are seeing many patients with elevated cholestrol level. Elevated cholestrol in our blood, in form of LDL can lead to formation of atherosclerosis, or commonly known as "block" in the arteries of the heart.

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Black cumin oil has been proven to reduce this, especially the LDLs and Triglyceride level. When the level of LDL and Triglyceride reduces, it will reduce the formation of "block" in the arteries, thus saving a patient from having a severe heart attack. And again this property is due to the presence of Thymoquinone in black cumin oil.

3. Anti- Cancer

Claiming anything is capable of curing cancer is dangerous. Cancer is unpredictable, it happens due to abnormal DNA, thus anything can happen in a cancer cell. Even the most amazing chemotherapy might be useful in one patient and be disappointing in another patient.

Scientiests such as Hammaq Shafiq et al have shown that Thymoquinone in black cumin oil, has anti-proliferative effect on the breast cancer cells. It essentially means that black cumin prevents the cancer cells from growing and dividing thus halting its growth. 

But a key finding to note is that, it had supplementary effect to the chemoagents that are commonly used for breast cancer treatment.

In conclusion we can see that black cumin seeds are indeed gift of the nature. So far, only one studied showed us relatively how much black cumin oil is needed to have some of its positive effect.Many pharmaceutical companies are selling black cumin seed supplements. But be careful, choose a good brand and make sure it's licensed by the Malaysian Food Safety agency.

For further reading

Nigella sativa improves glycemic control and ameliorates oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25706772

 

2. Effects of black seed (Nigella sativa) on metabolic parameters in diabetes mellitus: a systematic review.

- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25847566

3. Cardio-protective and anti-cancer therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa

- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4387232/