• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Bitter Melon

Listlad

Listlad

BANNED
Messages
3,971
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
1E962DE6-970C-4683-8371-D413B0322CD0.jpeg I was first introduced to bitter melon by my wife as she uses it occasionally as part of her own traditional diet from back home in S.E. Asia.

I was surprised to find that it has blood sugar reducing properties (or supposedly).

The attached recipe(s) pretty much follow hers.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/the-best-bitter-melon-recipes-4071414

It appears to be pretty low in terms of carb content at 5g / 100g. But comes with a catch i.e. that it is bitter stuff to say the least.
 
Love bitter melon- an Indian restaurant we go to makes a cracking lamb curry dish with it it's lush and the bitterness is what I like about it, - I don't remotely have a sweet tooth and this hits the spot for me
 
“In Chinese culture it’s believed eating bitter melon can help reduce blood sugar, help your liver recover and detox your body.”

Do we know this to be true?
 
Listlad said:
Yes , thanks, I did see that. I was interested to see if members agreed with the assertion that it helps reduce boood sugar levels.
Click to expand...

It's a bit like apple cider vinegar or cinnamon- for some there is an impact and for others not. Only by testing will you know if it works for you
 
DCUKMod said:
It's a bit like apple cider vinegar or cinnamon- for some there is an impact and for others not. Only by testing will you know if it works for you
Click to expand...
I thought you might say that.
 
Listlad said:
Yes , thanks, I did see that. I was interested to see if members agreed with the assertion that it helps reduce boood sugar levels.
Click to expand...
I started taking a supplement that includes bitter melon plus other herbs at the beginning of February 2019 and blood sugars have definitely gone lower.

Keto and intermittent fasting are the vital mainstays of my journey into remission/reversing the T2. I think I am one of those people who Dr Fung says that the reversal of T2 will take a very long time - mainly because I had uncontrolled diabetes for probably more than 20years. In fact the doctors could not work out how I was upright and standing, let alone working a 6 day week when I was admitted to hospital seriously Ill with an hba1c of 125.

I feel the 2 mmol/L drop in blood sugars by using the supplement will help me on that journey but it's the keto and IF that are doing all the work.
 
Well, I have just checked with Mrs Listlad and she reminded me that she also cooks it from fresh, with scrambled egg, which I had forgotten. So I have eaten it that way before.

If nothing else then it is another one of those foods that I can include in my diet that keeps my blood sugar levels lower.
 
Listlad said:
Well, I have just checked with Mrs Listlad and she reminded me that she also cooks it from fresh, with scrambled egg, which I had forgotten. So I have eaten it that way before.

If nothing else then it is another one of those foods that I can include in my diet that keeps my blood sugar levels lower.
Click to expand...
I love scrambled eggs so thank you for this. What I feel about the bitter melon is that I probably need an extra bit of help at the moment even though I am very strict keto and would be likely to be prescribed metformin at my next DN visit as BS was definitely showing an upward trend. As I don't seem to do well with prescription drugs and also can suffer from IBS type symptoms I was dreading the metformin. As my herbal suppliment works as well as metformin I would much rather take the herbal/bitter melon supplement and also add bitter melon to my meals. As well as the drop in blood sugar it does seem very gentle on my digestive system.
 
JohnEGreen said:
I think I would have to pass on Bitter Melon it has high levels of quinine in it.
Click to expand...
So I would be better to stick to the to the tablets as there is 300mg of bitter melon in the 2 tablets that I take daily. It's easy to forget that more of something is not necessarily better.
 
JohnEGreen said:
I think I would have to pass on Bitter Melon it has high levels of quinine in it.
Click to expand...
Well that’s a shock, John.

Looking it up, the key ingredient for diabetics is momordicin which is similar to quinine. Anyone know any better?

It may well then be in the tablets?

Momordica charantia is bitter melon.
 
I see there is on the net some controversy as to the content of quinine in bitter melon. As quinine is contraindicated for me I would try to err on the side of caution but for most people it would not be a problem. And it is purported to have some pretty good benefits.

"Safety profile: Bitter gourd may contain alkaloid substances like quinine and morodicine, resins and saponic glycosides, which may be intolerable by some people. The bitterness and toxicity may be reduced somewhat by parboiling or soaking in salt water for up to 10 minutes. Toxicity symptoms may include excessive salivation, facial redness, dimness of vision, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscular weakness."

http://amrapalimagazine.com/health-...d-bitter-melon-or-bitter-squash/#.XHLQ2bsYCUk
 
JohnEGreen said:
I see there is on the net some controversy as to the content of quinine in bitter melon. As quinine is contraindicated for me I would try to err on the side of caution but for most people it would not be a problem. And it is purported to have some pretty good benefits.

"Safety profile: Bitter gourd may contain alkaloid substances like quinine and morodicine, resins and saponic glycosides, which may be intolerable by some people. The bitterness and toxicity may be reduced somewhat by parboiling or soaking in salt water for up to 10 minutes. Toxicity symptoms may include excessive salivation, facial redness, dimness of vision, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscular weakness."

http://amrapalimagazine.com/health-...d-bitter-melon-or-bitter-squash/#.XHLQ2bsYCUk
Click to expand...
Also great to counter the potential for malaria.....

:D
 
Back
Top