A Natural Way to Better Blood Sugar Control

Amidst the rapid spread of diabetes worldwide, the Ampalaya or Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia Linn.) stands out for the traditional, scientific and clinical proof behind the herb’s blood sugar-lowering benefit.

A nutritious vegetable
The Ampalaya is nutritious and fibrous like most green and leafy vegetables. It is commonly eaten in Asia as a nutritious vegetable for its rich content of iron, beta-carotene, potassium and other nutrients that boost the immune system. Bitter in the raw, its fruits and leaves exude a delectable flavor when cooked and served as a dish.

Traditional trusted as a home remedy
The Ampalaya is likewise regarded as a medicinal herb. It is used for generations as a home remedy for various illnesses, such as nerve and viral diseases, coughs, anemia, hypertension and constipation. But it is most ideal for diabetes because of its proven hypoglycemic benefit.

The Ampalaya is traditionally prepared as tea or extracted as juice. The customary practice is to chop a fruit or one cup of leaves into bits, and boil them in a small pot of water. The brew is sipped like a tea, 2 to 3 cups a day, and the bits are sometimes eaten, too. Another method is to ground 1 to 2 whole fruits until the juice is extracted, which is taken by the spoonful twice daily. The taste is bitter though, and requires a hardy stomach. Preparation can also be time consuming.

Perhaps the most scientifically validated herb for diabetes
Since the 1940s, about 200 pre-clinical and clinical studies have confirmed the Ampalaya’s blood sugar-lowering properties. Researchers at the King’s College in London, England summarized these studies, saying the “oral administration of fruit or seed powder [of the Ampalaya] causes a reduction in fasting blood glucose and improves glucose tolerance.” ¹ Likewise, this conclusion was corroborated in a review by a former director of the Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs (FDA equivalent), concluding that the herb “helps increase glucose tolerance and potentiate insulin.”² His review was presented at the 2004 World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Key Compounds
Long trusted in Asia as a nutritious vegetable and traditional home remedy for diabetes, the Ampalaya contains several key compounds that help lower elevated blood sugar levels including charantin, vicine and polypeptide-p, a known plant insulin. Researchers are looking into three possible modes of action caused by the interplay of these compounds, namely:

1. Increase in the efficacy of insulin to ‘unlock’ the cell so the blood sugar molecules can enter.
2. Increase in glucose tolerance
3. Increase of insulin secretion in the pancreas

Many have also reported increased glucose tolerance and less blood sugar spiking with regular use of Ampalaya in Tea or Capsule form. Through regular fasting blood sugar tests, they can actually measure the Ampalaya’s hypoglycemic benefits.

Clinically based dosage
Just as critical as knowing an herbal supplement works is how much is necessary to take for it to work properly. A limited but significant clinical trial published in the Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine (July/August 2001) concludes that at least 3 grams of dried Ampalaya fruits should be taken daily.³ While some say they felt improvement in as short as one to two weeks, on the average, it takes one month of regular use of the Ampalaya to experience the hypoglycemic benefits.

Positive clinical experience of doctors
Many doctors in Asia recommend the use of the Ampalaya, whether in its natural state or as a food supplement in tea or capsule form, to fortify the diet of their diabetic patients. Through glucose tests, doctors can easily measure the Ampalaya’s blood sugar-lowering effect. In the Philippines, where the herb is indigenous, a national medical organization* composed of over 1,500 doctors running the country’s public health centers even officially recommends an Ampalaya food supplement to help their patients gain better blood sugar control.

Nationwide program recognizes role of Ampalaya dietary supplement in diabetes care
Operation Diabetes, a government-endorsed nationwide diabetes control and prevention program in the Philippines, acknowledges the Ampalaya as an integral part in diabetes management. The program aims to help ease the burden of diabetics and curb the further spread of the disease by educating the public about the disease and proper lifestyle. The Ampalaya is intended to fortify the diet of diabetics and, along with regular exercise, it provides an effective first defense against diabetes or its complications.

Wide acceptance in Europe and the USA
The Ampalaya is gaining wide acceptance as a pleasant-tasting tea or convenient capsules in Europe and the United States. These diabetics are satisfied to have a safe, natural alternative to control diabetes. With regular intake of the Ampalaya, they attest to living a more active and fuller life.

References:

1. Raman, C. Lau. “Anti-diabetes Properties and Phytochemistry of Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae)” Phytomedicine, Vol.2.pp 349-362, 1996.
2. D. Torres. “Momordica charantia Linn. (Family: Cucurbitaceae)-Chemistry and Pharmacology” unpublished. February 2004.
3. Rosales, R. Fernando “An Inquiry to the Hypoglycemic Action of Momordica charantia among type-2 diabetic patients” Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine. P. 213, July-August 2001.

*The Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines