Bitter Melon Herbal Remedies for Blood Sugar Imbalance

Bitter melon is a traditional food that is widely used in Asian cooking—in soups, stir-frys and sometimes by itself as a medicinal tea for increasing bile flow, improving fat digestion, and generating stomach acid and enzymes to help digest proteins. Increased saliva output from consuming bitter melon also enhances starch digestion by mixing food that is chewed with amylase and other enzymes.

Bitter melon has also been traditionally used for helping to regulate blood sugar and to ward off diabetes, both by adding the fruit to the diet and by taking tablets and capsules that contain the dried fruit or a fruit concentrate. Modern studies show that bitter melon might also have the benefit of normalizing blood cholesterol imbalances, sometimes associated with diabetes.

Other close relatives of the bitter melon in the same genus Momordica, known as Ku Gua, are used in traditional Chinese medicine for relieving the body of toxic wastes, and to help reduce skin infections like boils and acne.

Bitter melon remedies are most often recommended by herbalists to help normalize blood sugar. Blood sugar imbalances are associated with diabetes, a serious and chronic disease that is becoming epidemic in many countries that have unlimited access to processed foods, especially ones containing refined sugar. Diabetes is also highly associated with heart disease, obesity, blindness, severe nerve pain, limb problems, increased risk of infections, and many other symptoms. Type 2 diabetes often develops in people over 45, but increasingly in younger people as well. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas produces insulin in order to help the body’s cells utilize the sugar as energy, but the body is not able to properly use the insulin, literally starving important tissues and organs of energy.

How to take Bitter Melon to Help Normalize Blood Sugar

Fresh vs. packaged

Bitter melon comes in various shapes and sizes, but generally looks like a big, ribbed, warty cucumber, and in fact it is related to the cucumber. They can be widely found in many Asian markets, Chinatown, Indian markets, and stores that sell products from Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Using fresh bitter melon is the best for making tinctures (by blending in alcohol and water), for cooking, and to dry and powder to place in “00” capsules for making your own bitter melon supplements.

The fruit (without the seeds) is sometimes juiced and the juice added to other tastier juices to provide health benefits.

Ready-made bitter melon extracts are available in capsules and tablets in many Asian markets, herb shops, and in the supplement department of health food stores. Look for standardized extracts (to 15% charantin for instance) or concentrated whole fruit extracts (4:1 or 5:1) to help insure sufficient activity.

Bitter melon, as its name implies, is quite bitter, which is why western consumers not used to the flavor from childhood often prefer to take capsules and tablets.

Typical Dosage of Bitter Melon for Blood Sugar Imbalances

For adults, a typical dose of bitter melon is several slices cooked in a stir-fry, or 1 capsule, typically containing 500 mg of a standardized extract or a 4:1 whole fruit extract.

Many tinctures (1:5 hydroalcoholic extracts) state a dosage of 1-4 droppersful (1-4 mL) daily, or 1-3 cups of the tea daily. The juice can be taken blended with other tastier juices like apple, sweet cucumber, or carrot. A typical dose is 1-3 tablespoons at a time.

How often to take it

Take bitter melon tincture, capsules or tablets once or twice a day with meals. Cooked in stir-frys or soups, bitter melon is typically eaten in one or two meals a day, often as a side dish or preliminary to meat dishes.

How much to buy at each time (weekly, monthly need)

Buy one or two fresh fruits at a time for cooking, as desired. One bottle of standardized, or concentrated whole fruit extract (4:1 or 10:1) capsules contain 30 to 120 capsules. Buy one or two bottles, depending on need.

Where to buy Bitter Melon supplements

Bitter Melon supplements can usually be purchased from health food stores, or from your pharmacy’s natural products section.

How to make Bitter Melon preparations

Use the standard method for making a 1:5 hydroethanolic tincture. The fresh fruit can also be dried and powdered and put into capsules (“00” capsules contain about 500 mg) for later use, especially if they are not always available.

For cooking, the fruit is usually cut lengthwise, the seeds scraped out, and then cut into strips and steamed or fried lightly in cooking oil.

Things to know when taking Bitter Melon for Blood Sugar Imbalances

Side effects

The safety rating of cooked or dried whole bitter melon is likely to be high because of its long use as a common vegetable in Asian cooking. Once the fruit has been concentrated (for instance a 10:1 extract), or fractionated (as in a standardized extract), the long-term safety is less proven.

For concentrated or standardized extracts, the theoretical side effects of bitter melon include stomach upset and diarrhea, especially if taken in larger amounts than stated on the product label. An additional theoretical side effect concerns taking the product with standard blood sugar lowering medications like Glucotrol or Glucophage, a combination that could potentially have a stronger blood sugar regulating effect than desired.

Contradictions

Blood sugar medications, without advice of a physician or other qualified health care professional.

Potential Interactions

Blood sugar medications, without advice of a physician or other qualified health care professional.

Other warnings

None.

Additional Resources

Good herbal combinations with Bitter Melon

Other herbs and dietary supplements thought to help regulate blood sugar are chromium, cinammon, milk thistle, gymnema, fenugreek, and American ginseng.

Scientific Rationale

One recent randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study with 40 diabetes type 2 patients who took 2 capsules of dried whole fruit three times daily with poorly-controlled diabetes type 2 showed weak results (Dans et al, 2006). Many other animal studies and controlled human studies going back to the 1980s have been published world-wide that show bitter melon has blood sugar-lowering effects, adding some scientific weight to the regular use of bitter melon, especially for early prevention of type 2 diabetes. However, the efficacy of bitter melon is still not proven, and possible safety issues have been noted (Basch et al, 2003). Still, Bitter melon is very widely sold as a product throughout the world and thought to be beneficial for blood sugar balance and reduction, and it is also a traditional food used by millions.