Have you ever heard of Momordica charantia? Or wait, what about karela? Now don’t get scared. These are just a couple of other names for bitter gourd, which is also known as bitter melon or bitter squash in English. The first thing that comes to my mind seeing it is the bitterness in the name. They are dark or light green in colour depending on the region where they are grown. Though they taste very bitter, they are filled with many beneficial antioxidants and essential vitamins (1).
Bitter melon, also known as ‘Karela’ in Hindi, ‘Kakarakaya‘ in Telugu, ‘Pavakkai‘ in Tamil, ‘Pavakka‘ in Malayalam, ‘Hagalkai‘ in Kannada, ‘Karela‘ in Gujarati, ‘Karle‘ in Marathi, and ‘Korola‘ in Bengali can be consumed in various ways like drinking its juice, pickle or using it in recipes.
Let us quickly look at some of the most well known health benefits of Bitter Melon:
The fresh pods are an excellent remedy for curing respiratory problems like asthma, cold, cough, etc. Also, the paste of bitter melon leaves, along with the paste of tulsi leaves, when taken with honey in the morning, is a good remedy (2).
Drink one glass of bitter melon juice daily to heal liver problems. Keep consuming this continuously for a week to see results(3).
Boil bitter melon leaves or fruits in water and consume it every day to fight against infections. This also helps to build your immunity (4).
Consuming bitter melon can help you get rid of acne, blemishes and deep skin infections. Bitter melon is useful in treating blood disorders like blood boils, scabies, itching, psoriasis, ringworm and other fungal diseases. The free radicals in it are also useful for anti-ageing. Consume the juice of a bitter melon mixed with lemon on an empty stomach daily for 6 months or till you get the desired results (5).
Bitter melon juice benefits include helping to overcome type 2 diabetes (6). It has been a part of the Chinese and Indian ancient medicine for a long time but only recent research has proven that it is no folk lore. Type 2 diabetes is caused partially due to the inability of a cell to absorb the sugar in the blood due to insufficient insulin or due to development of resistance to insulin. In both cases, the cells are unable to absorb the sugar due to the ineffectiveness of the insulin produced. The absorption of sugar occurs due to the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase in the cells. Bitter gourd activates these kinases due to which the absorption of sugar increases and hence, aids in bringing diabetes under control. Green juice for diabetics: cucumbers, green apples, bitter melon, celery, ½ green capsicum (bell pepper). Bitter melon contains certain chemicals that are like insulin which help to reduce the blood sugar levels.
Bitter melon helps in easy digestion as it contains fibre properties. The food is digested and the waste is thrown out of the body which helps in curing indigestion and constipation problems (7).
Bitter melon helps to maintain a healthy liver and bladder. It is also useful in curing kidney stones (8).
Bitter melon is very good for the heart in many ways. It helps reduce the bad cholesterol levels which clog the arterial walls and thereby reduces the chances of heart attacks. Also, it is known to lower the blood sugar levels that help in maintaining a good heart health (9).
Bitter melon can prevent cancer cells from multiplying (10).
Bitter melon contains antioxidants that help to flush out your system. This improves your metabolism and digestive systems, thus helping you lose weight quickly. The two other major factors that aid in weight loss are the calorie control and filling components. Calorie control happens as such because vegetables are low in calories that allows you to consume more quantities of them. The filling component in this vegetable is water. We know that water is a universal suppressant of hunger. The pods of this vegetable contain on the whole 80-85% water (11).
The appearance of your skin is largely determined by what you put inside your body. In other words, getting proper nutrition is a prerequisite for a healthy and damage-free skin. Being a natural blood purifier, bitter gourd helps in improving the appearance of your skin. It provides the following benefits to your skin:
The regular consumption of bitter gourd helps in keeping your skin glowing and free from blemishes. It also helps prevent acne thanks to its blood purifying properties (12).
Bitter melon benefits in treating skin diseases or skin infections, eczema and psoriasis (13). The regular consumption of bitter gourd juice helps in improving psoriasis as well as other fungal infections like ringworm and athlete’s foot.
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