fasting blood sugar2. Improves metabolic syndrome
Hello. I'm a pharmacist Jinny.
Recently, there is one food that has become very popular in relation to diabetes management, and that is 'bitter gourd'. Bitter gourd, which belongs to the gourd family, is characterized by its elongated and bumpy protrusions. This appearance has earned him the nickname "Goblin Bat".
The reason why bitter gourd has attracted attention for its anti-diabetic properties is because of the ingredients P-insulin and carantin contained in bitter gourd. While P-insulin is a "plant insulin" or "natural insulin" that performs a similar action to insulin in the body, carantin activates the beta cells of the pancreas that make and secrete insulin.
In addition, bitter gourd is rich in vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin, and is also known to be found in momordecin, which regulates cholesterol, and conjugated linolenic acid, which helps with diet.
Now, let's take a look at how bitter gourd can perform anti-diabetic effects through human application tests on diabetic patients.
Do you know your fasting blood sugar levels? If the fasting blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dL, it is normal, if it is 100~125 mg/dL, it is diagnosed as a fasting glucose disorder, and if it is above 126 mg/dL, it is diagnosed as diabetes.
Since we can't eat while sleeping, of course, our blood sugar drops slightly during sleep. Therefore, in order to regulate blood sugar so that it does not drop excessively, the liver produces sugar while you sleep. If you have diabetes, insulin, which regulates blood sugar, does not work well, resulting in excessive sugar production. Therefore, if you have high fasting blood sugar, you are diagnosed with diabetes.
In this regard, there is a human application test to find out if bitter gourd can lower fasting blood sugar in diabetics. In 2020, researchers in South Korea asked 96 diabetic patients to take bitter gourd extract for 12 weeks and found that the average fasting blood sugar levels were lowered [1].
Fasting blood sugar is also an important diagnostic criterion for metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when a person meets three or more of the following five criteria: a broad waistline, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol, along with high fasting blood sugar. Metabolic syndrome is known to increase the incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.
In 2012, researchers in Taiwan conducted a clinical trial on 42 adults who met 3-5 of the criteria for metabolic syndrome to see if the consumption of bitter gourd could improve metabolic syndrome.
After 3 months of bitter gourd capsules, the incidence of metabolic syndrome as well as waist circumference were significantly reduced [2].
"The reduction in incidence was highest at the end of the three-month supplementation period, with a significant difference from baseline. The difference remained significant until 4 months (1 month after discontinuation of supplementation). After supplementation, the waist circumference also decreased significantly."
It's not just fasting blood sugar that diabetics have to worry about. It's not blood sugar itself that reduces the quality of life and increases mortality for diabetics, it's the complications of diabetes.
To prevent diabetes complications, it's important to remember advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).Glycation end products, often referred to as "glycotoxins," are considered to be the cause of diabetes complications and aging. Glucose in the blood is produced in the body by reacting with various protein components, and it can also accumulate in the body by eating foods cooked at high temperatures with animal fats or protein-rich foods.
Reducing the level of these glycation end products is called 'antiglycation'. We would like to introduce the human application test that studied the anti-glycation activity of bitter gourd. In this study, diabetic patients who consumed 6 g of dried bitter gourd containing caranthin daily showed a significant reduction in advanced glycation end products after 16 weeks [3].
"In addition, the bitter gourd group showed a significant reduction in total glycation end products (AGEs) in serum after 16 weeks of intervention."
Today, we're going to look at the benefits of bitter gourd through research. As we've seen, bitter gourd is an ingredient that can help lower blood sugar and alleviate the health problems caused by high blood sugar.
However, there are some people who should be careful about consuming bitter gourd. Since bitter gourd has a high potassium content, patients with chronic kidney disease who have difficulty excreting potassium should refrain from consuming it. Also, if you are already taking diabetes medication, we recommend that you consult your doctor before taking it.
So, I hope you have a healthy day in body and mind. It was Jinny.
[1] Kim, S. K., Jung, J., Jung, J. H., Yoon, N., Kang, S. S., Roh, G. S., & Hahm, J. R. (2020). Hypoglycemic efficacy and safety of Momordica charantia (bitter melon) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Complementary therapies in medicine, 52, 102524.
[2] Tsai, C. H., Chen, E. C., Tsay, H. S., & Huang, C. J. (2012). Wild bitter gourd improves metabolic syndrome: a preliminary dietary supplementation trial. Nutrition journal, 11, 4.
[3] Trakoon-osot, W., Sotanaphun, U., Phanachet, P., Porasuphatana, S., Udomsubpayakul, U., & Komindr, S. (2013). Pilot study: Hypoglycemic and antiglycation activities of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) in type 2 diabetic patients. Journal of Pharmacy Research, 6(8), 859-864. ISSN 0974-6943.
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