Eating bitter melon increases insulin production by 160% in some

Via Foodweek.com.au

“Bitter melon extract, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been tested and found to protect β-cells and increase insulin production in new research presented by Dr Pingfan Rao, Fuzhou University, China.

In traditional Chinese medicine, herbs undergo maillard reaction during sun-drying and boiling, to extract dark colour tonics as remedies. In spite of their prominent presence, maillard reaction products (MRPs) have never been linked to therapeutic effects,” he said.

The scientific team tested bitter melon extract (Mormodica Charantia Extract), an anti-diabetic herbal remedy prepared by boiling extraction of sun-dried fruits.

“The MRPs were found to release reducing agents and bind to the membrane of pancreatic cells and when these cells were treated with MCE prior to alloxan damage, insulin secretion increased by 160% compared to the untreated group

I’m definitely a lover of melons, I can’t deny that. But this is some interesting news to me as I don’t really eat so many bitter melons. It is interesting to see more and more of these studies coming out regarding extracts from natural foods and their potential healing properties. There was also one a while back regarding chili pepper extract curing diabetes in mice.

Americans making progress in managing diabetes

Via Reuters.com

Americans appear to be doing a better job of managing diabetes, with more than half of diabetics reaching recommended targets for controlling blood sugar last year, according to a survey published on Saturday.

Just over a third of people had their diabetes well-controlled in 2001, according to a study of lab tests done on more than 4 million people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Definitely great to hear, the study notes a 44% improvement which is a superb improvement. Obviously the more effort we put into changing our daily habits, routines and focusing on our daily health the better off we’ll be.

One thing I found quite interesting though is they say people find diabetes much harder to manage in the winter as well as being harder for men than it is for women.

The diabetes divide: Is diabetes a surgical or medical disease.

Via aesisgroup.com

During residency (which is not the free-for-all carnival that “Gray’s Anatomy” would have us believe), one of the most important judgment calls that is learned is whether the patient is “sick” or not. This is not in the sense that the patient is faking illness but rather the concept that young doctors gradually learn from experience whether a patient is on the up-trend or down-trend towards recovery.

One of the most important of such decisions is whether a disease is of a surgical or a medical nature. A surgical disease is one which requires some form of intervention such as, of course, surgery (although various vascular interventions and radiation techniques would also fall in this category) while a medical condition implies a pharmaceutical approach to treatment.

Interesting thoughts, though the article might appeal to the more medical minded, it is something worth checking out. Also gives a few ideas to ponder about the future of diabetes treatment.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 5:42 am and is filed under Diabetes News, Diabetes Tips, Diabetic Health, Glucose Management, Links.
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