One more post relative to the previous post on blood glucose care. As I said previously, I am always looking for a natural way to help reduce my glucose levels. I lost weight. I cut back on alcohol consumption. I take my meds and inject 24 units of insulin everyday. And I walk, either outside or on the treadmill every day. So I do what I am suppose to do to keep it under control. Some days the number is good, some days it is high. Anything I can do, naturally, that will help lower it and keep it low, I want to do. I recently happened across an article which talked about Bitter Gourd juice and the benefits of drinking it for blood glucose control. Read on.
As the name implies, this vegetable is a melon that is bitter. There are two varieties of this vegetable: One grows to about 20 cm long, is oblong and pale green in color. The other is the smaller variety, less than 10 cm long, oval and has a darker green color.
I found it for sale on Amazon,com (of course - you can find everything on Amazon.com). I ordered a container and received notice this morning from Amazon that it shipped. I should have it in a couple days. I will let you know how it works after I have had a chance to test it out thoroughly. I am happy to be your guinea pig for this one.
I also checked WebMD to see what their opinion might be of this juice. Click here to read their description and to read reviews from several people who have tried the juice. Of course my first question is, if this stuff is so wonderful, why haven't I already heard about it. For that I have no answer. Hopefully we have stumbled onto something that will be beneficial to all of us. You do not have to be fighting diabetes to enjoy the health benefits from bitter gourd juice. Maybe we should all start drinking it.
DESCRIPTION
The bitter melon (also known as bitter gourd) looks like a cucumber but with ugly gourd-like bumps all over it.
As the name implies, this vegetable is a melon that is bitter. There are two varieties of this vegetable: One grows to about 20 cm long, is oblong and pale green in color. The other is the smaller variety, less than 10 cm long, oval and has a darker green color.
Both varieties have seeds that are white when unripe and that turn red when they are ripe. The vegetable-fruit turn reddish-orange when ripe and becomes even more bitter.
Bitter gourd thrives in hot and humid climates, so are commonly found in Asian countries and South America.
Westerners may not be so used to bitter melons, so may find them more difficult to consume. But if you can generally take bitter taste, you may be able to take this too. Try it, at least for all its healthful virtues!
NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS
Bitter gourds are very low in calories but dense with precious nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, C, magnesium, folate, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and has high dietary fiber. It is rich in iron, contains twice the beta-carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, and twice the potassium of a banana.
Bitter melon contains a unique phyto-constituent that has been confirmed to have a hypoglycemic effect called charantin. There is also another insulin-like compound known as polypeptide P which have been suggested as insulin replacement in some diabetic patients.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Diabetes mellitus: Bitter melon contains a hypoglycemic compound (a plant insulin) that is highly beneficial in lowering sugar levels in blood and urine. Bitter melon juice has been shown to significantly improve glucose tolerance without increasing blood insulin levels.
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I also checked WebMD to see what their opinion might be of this juice. Click here to read their description and to read reviews from several people who have tried the juice. Of course my first question is, if this stuff is so wonderful, why haven't I already heard about it. For that I have no answer. Hopefully we have stumbled onto something that will be beneficial to all of us. You do not have to be fighting diabetes to enjoy the health benefits from bitter gourd juice. Maybe we should all start drinking it.
