Bitter Melon: A Sweet Solution?

By:faye bautista

I would be truly happy if broccoli can grow in my backyard. But with our tropical climate, that would be impossible. However, I cannot complain that we can grow string beans, tomatoes, eggplants and bitter melons.

Bitter melon or bitter gourd is beneficial to diabetics. Thank God we have tons in our backyard that my mother grew. I swear there are times when we have bitter gourd in our dish for consecutive days. As it is one of the most common local vegetables here (Philippines) we can cook them with practically anything.

One more thing about this wonderful vine-like plant is that when it starts bearing fruit, it will only stop when the vines dry up and die. When they start coming, bitter gourd will be coming out of your ears. After which, you just have to grow new ones from the seeds of the ripen fruit.

However, bitter gourd (or ampalaya as we call it here) may be a common vegetable (or fruit?) but it isn't everyone's favorite. The answer to that is really pretty obvious, because it is bitter.

I didn't like it as a child either. I've just learned to love it when I was a sleep-deprived college student. Because, aside from its anti-diabetes properties, bitter gourd is also known to be rich in iron and promotes the production of red blood cells.

Well, nobody in my household has diabetes but we all do love bitter gourd. Well most of us anyway. That is, except for my four year old son.

Frustrated with traditional medical treatments, many diabetics are turning to natural solutions. They are now going to the basics of which this natural ways are abundant and hopefully in the process can give cheaper solutions.

Of these, the most notable by far is the use of bitter melon as a treatment for diabetes. Many people, in fact, have claimed it has actually 'cured' their diabetes! Whether or not 'curing' diabetes is actually possible, there is in fact evidence that diabetic symptoms may be improved by ingesting bitter melon.

The fruit can be eaten raw, or consumed in juice or tea form. Also, it has now been turned into capsule form for easy swallowing. Since, most of us are not really fond of the bitter gourd. With of course caution that there are no therapeutic claims. It seems to work best for later onset, Type 2 diabetes.

In fact, at the popular Remedy Find, bitter melon is rated by consumers as the #1 treatment for diabetes, ahead of even insulin.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: diabetes, health, information, health breakthroughs, treatment, berberine

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

The author writes about Snacks For Diabetics and blogs at http://www.daily-diabetic.com/.

Top Diabetes Articles
1). Blood Presure, High or Low, You Need to Know This By : Tyson J Stevenson Blood pressure is generally categorized into optimal, normal, high normal and excessive high or hypertensive. High blood pressure can cause coronary heart disease which may result in heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and bleeding from several parts of our body.
2). Diabeticine and Diamaxol: New Diabetes Medicines and the FDA By : Vivian Brennan Diabeticine, however, claimed to target the root of diabetes. Diabeticine claimed that it was a hypoglycemic agent. The FDA looked at Diabeticine’s advertising campaign and declared that it was a drug, not a supplement. This seems to be fair reasoning on the part of the FDA. (The name, Diabeticine, also implies that it is a medicine). There appears to be mixed feelings about Diabeticine (now Diamaxol).
3). What Is Diabetes? By : Mary Williams With diabetes such an epidemic today, it is essential that you know exactly what it is. Why? Well, to prevent getting diabetes yourself that is! In layman terms, “diabetes” is the inability of the body to process sugars properly. When we eat or drink, our “pancreas” produces a hormone called “insulin”. Insulin is released into the blood and helps to regulate the amount of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream.
4). 8 Signs of a Diabetes Symptom By : Carol Ann If you have two or more of these pre-diabetes symptoms you should seriously consider getting yourself checked out: 1) If you find you are excessively thirsty, not just after extreme exercise or hot weather. 2) You seem to constantly have a dry mouth - even if you've just had a drink. 3) You find you are having to urinate frequently. 4) You have unexpected weight loss or gain (even though you may be constantly hungry and eating well.
5). Diabetes and Insulin By : Dr. Mark S. Johnson Diabetes and Insulin Diabetes is a condition in which the body either does not manufacture sufficient amounts of insulin or does not properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that is necessary for the transport of sugar from the blood stream into the cells for use as energy. Type 2 diabetes results when our bodies become insensitive to insulin and cause our blood sugar go out of balance.
6). Diabetes mellitus type 2 – Symptoms, causes and treatment By : Knut Holt Special areas in the pancreas gland, the Islets of Langerhans, produce a hormone called insulin. This hormone is a protein of small size. Insulin stimulates muscle cells and other body cells to take up glucose from the blood and convert the glucose to glycogen, a kind of starch, and then store the glycogen. By need the body cells convert the glycogen to glucose and use it as fuel.
7). Diabetes: Diabetic Foot Ulcers May be Cure by A Vitamin A Compound By : Hector Milla A compound of vitamin A called topical Retin-A also known as tretinoin, mainly used to treat acne problems, enhances the healing of foot ulcers in patients with diabetes, according to a report of the Archives of Dermatology. Though previous studies showed that topical Retin-A was a bit helpful in enhancing wound healing in patients with diabetes and some results were discussed by different scientifics, a group of researchers tried to know if tretinoin really helped or not to these patients.
8). Diabetic Food - Reading Food Labels Properly Is Key To Your Health By : Dean Shainin With diabetic food, it all comes down to the nutrition facts. It’s that list of nutrition information found on the package of foods sold in the grocery store. Reading food labels can help you make wise choices about the foods you buy. The labels will tell you what ingredients were used, the amount of calories, and other pertinent information essential to a diabetes patient.
9). Winning Tactics For Traveling With Diabetes By : Bill Urell Travel tricks and tips to ensure that you have all your diabetes supplies available when and where you need them.
10). Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Under Control By : Scott Michaels Controlling blood sugar (glucose) levels is one of the most important aspects of diabetes management. It will make you feel better in the short-term and it will help you to stay fit and healthy in the long term. The National Committee on Prevention Detection Evaluation, the chromium and many interesting articles. People who do not have diabetes keep their blood glucose levels within a narrow range for most of the time.

New Diabetes Articles
1). How Cinnamon Seems to Help a Diabetic with their Diabetes Condition By : Arland Kent Cinnamon, used for a long time as a spice that assists with energy, this is a cheap form of help for the control of diabetes. With the sourced funding from a major foundation, a doctor is studying the possible cinnamon effects on diabetes. He was able to isolate the sourced compound in cinnamon that is a responsible for a portion of the superb effects that this substance has on diabetes.
2). Diabetes Glucose Monitoring - A Breakthrough On The Horizon By : Terry Edwards Of course, the only way of doing this up until now has been to stick your finger with a needle and put some blood on a blood glucose meter. Well, change is on the horizon.
3). Understand Diabetes and Its Effective Natural Treatment By : Rian Azari Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce insulin, a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy for daily life requirements. It is still a mystery the cause of diabetes although genetically and environmentally influence such as not enough exercise and obesity play a role. To understand diabetes, it is good to learn something about pancreas, the long and thin situated behind our stomach.
4). Diabetes Management: Blood Glucose Meters By : Scott Michaels One of the great things about the Internet is that it’s created a global community for discussions of topics such as diabetes. You’ll find there are a number of forums that will allow you to talk to others facing your situation. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with diabetes, one of your first steps will likely be to find a glucose meter.
5). Diabetes Today, the Disturbing Truth By : illich Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease. Since 1987 the death rate has increased 45 percent. In 2002; diabetes claimed an astonishing 224,092 lives in the United States alone. It is believed that the number was actually higher since most deaths of the elderly had multiple chronic conditions associated with their death including diabetes. Many people.
6). Diabetes Epidemic because of self-inflicted Obesity By : Carol Ann One of the greatest contributors to the type 2 diabetes epidemic is reckoned to be obesity brought on by our modern lifestyles. Are you eating yourself into diabetes type 2? Check if you have these 4 eating habits that could contribute to obesity and possibly make you part of the type 2 diabetes epidemic... 1) Unconscious eating... No, I don't mean 'sleep-eating' (I wonder if there is such a thing?) I'm talking about automatic eating without any conscious thought to what is happening.
7). The Truth about Diabetes By : Hector Milla What if you are diagnosed with diabetes? Are you going to stay indoors and just inject yourself with insulin everyday? Maybe you need to understand the facts about diabetes and accept it wholeheartedly so that it can't be a heavy burden in your part. Let us start from defining what diabetes really is and the probable causes that brings this disease.
8). 5 Ways to Manage your Diet for Diabetes By : Jennifer Carter Since my diagnosis with diabetes at the age of eleven, my own diet has changed dramatically. I maintain my current healthy weight with a great diet/eating plan. If you do plan on losing more than about a stone in weight then I would visit your doctor for more tips on how to do this without risk. I've had diabetes for seven years now, but to tell you that how I maintain weight is perfect would be totally wrong of me.
9). Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Under Control By : Scott Michaels Controlling blood sugar (glucose) levels is one of the most important aspects of diabetes management. It will make you feel better in the short-term and it will help you to stay fit and healthy in the long term. The National Committee on Prevention Detection Evaluation, the chromium and many interesting articles. People who do not have diabetes keep their blood glucose levels within a narrow range for most of the time.
10). A Short Tutorial About Various Diabetic Supplies By : George Johnson Diabetes is a chronic disease with no cure but the good news is that proper care and treatment a person can live a log and healthy life. Nearly 2,000 people are diagnosed with diabetes everyday. It is estimated that there are 17 million people with diabetes in the U.S and another 16 million have pre-diabetes or higher blood-sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.