Information on Bitter Melon
Bitter melon comes from the family of squashes and it isvery similar to cucumbers because of its bumpy skin. Its botanical name ismomordica charantia. At the moment when it is picked its color is usuallyyellow greenish but as it slowly ripens, its color also changes to orange. Itis filled with seeds which are very rich in fibers.
Health Benefits of Bitter Melon
It is a popular belief that bitter melon can be of greathelp for all those who suffer from diabetes. Certain scientific studies haveshown that it actually is on the list of herbal remedies which are very potentwhen it comes to the treatment of diabetes. It has been used for the treatmentof diabetes mellitus in the traditional Chinese medicine for numerouscenturies. Bitter melon is very efficient in treating diabetes mellitus becauseit reduces the levels of glucose in the blood. Some of its components have achemical structure which is very similar to the structure of the animalinsulin. Bitter melon in its raw form or in the form of powder is also knownfor its potent hypoglycemic, anti-neoplastic and antiviral properties. Bittermelon can be boiled in order to produce extracts, which are very potentantioxidants. The extracts may be obtained by boiling the melon in the solventunder reflux or by utilizing a process called cold maceration. The extracts arevery efficient in fighting the free radicals and reducing the amount andseverity of damage they cause to the human body on a cellular level. Koimidorivariety can be used for the extraction of the dietary methanol fraction whichis a chemical compound with very strong hypolipidemic properties. The samevariety is also known for being very efficient in lowering the triglycerides inthe human body. Bitter melon may also be of great help when it comes toreducing the risk of certain types of cancer. It can come in very handy when itcomes to both short term and long term treatment of several types of tumors.These properties are mostly because of the content of several different typesof beneficial acids in the oil which can be extracted from the bitter melonseeds.
Selection
One should always select firm specimens which between 5 and12 inches long. Those who want a bitter taste should choose green ones, whilethose thrive for a milder taste should go with orange melons. They can be keptin a refrigerator for no more than 5 days.
Your thoughts on this
Loading...