It is often said that karela or bitter gourd is immensely powerful against certain chronic conditions like diabetes and also helps cut the risk when it comes to pre-diabetes. But how much of it is true?
Here’s nutritionist Rashi Chowdhury explaining the process.
“Whenever you taste something bitter, it sparks the neurosensory mechanism in your whole body and not just the tip of your tongue. There are taste receptors in your gut too! And every time the gut tastes a bitter phytochemical, it turns on a response to release hormones in the body that help manage blood sugar levels and inflammation levels in your body,” she said.
Quoting a research by Dr Jeffrey Bland, referred to as the ‘father of functional medicine’, she added, “Even the drugs prescribed to treat diabetes mimic the bitter taste mechanisms of our body to release an insulin-like hormone called GLP1 or glucagon-like peptide 1 in our bloodstream”.
So instead of popping pills, make connections between what you eat how you feel and then make changes to your diet, she mentioned.
According to her, if one’s HBA1C (haemoglobin test) is around 7-7.5, it is better to not start medicines and instead fix your food to reverse it.
She also went on to share a recipe of “edible karela juice“.
Ingredients
½ – Karela with skin
2 – Amla, chopped
½ inch – Ginger
150ml – Water
1 – Lemon
Pinch of Himalayan salt
Method
*Blend all the ingredients together. Strain.
How to have it?
“I had to still just gulp it all down. It’s impossible to sip on it or go slow with it,” she mentioned.
Sharing that while many prefer to have raw karela juice, this tweaked recipe “was edible”, which is worth a try.
“Start this way if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes and then gradually if you want start cutting out other ingredients,” she said.
Want to try?
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