StemCell Therapy

Think of bitter melon (also commonly referred to as "goya") as a distant cousin to your cantaloupe or honeydew. In fact, it's technically part of the gourd family and doesn't really look like a melon at all: "It looks like a warty cucumber," says Buettner.

Aesthetics aside, bitter melon has some pretty impressive nutritional benefits. "Packed with phytonutrients and vitamins, it's a good source of vitamins C, A, and E. It also is rich in B vitamins, including folate and B2. Additionally, it has potassium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. If that's not enough, it contains high levels of antioxidants," writes registered dietitian Mascha Davis, R.D., MPH, about the benefits of bitter melon.

Specifically, Buettner notes that the melon can be beneficial for diabetes and prediabetes: "There's three compounds in it that help lower blood sugar," he explains. These compounds (called chantarin, polypeptide-p, and vicine, in case you're curious) have been shown to act similar to insulin when they're ingested in the body. Of course, much more research is necessary before we can consider bitter melon a helpful treatment for the chronic condition, but the blood sugar benefits (and Buettner's anthropological evidence for longevity) shouldn't be ignored.

Original post:
A Longevity Expert On The Weird Fruit That's A+ For Blood Sugar Balance - mindbodygreen.com

This entry was posted on September 21, 2020 at 6:53 pm and is filed under Longevity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |