Diabetic Care
Studies show that compounds found in bitter melon mimic insulin.
They lower blood sugar by promoting the transportation of glucose into cells and the storage of energy in the liver and muscles. The fruit improves insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance and insulin signaling and can even help support weight loss (2).
Use In Cancer Patients
Surprisingly, the same actions that make the melon suitable for diabetics help kill cancer cells.
University of Colorado Cancer Center found that bitter melon stops pancreatic cancer cells from metabolizing glucose. This works because cancer cells need sugar to survive. Daily consumption of bitter melon juice was found to reduce pancreatic cancer risk by 60%. (3)
Bitter melon also displays cytotoxic activity. It contains a ribosome inhibiting protein (RIP) that induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells (4). It also prevents the spread of cancer.In fact, mice fed bitter melon extract had a 51% reduction of cancer proliferation (5).
And these studies aren’t alone, the NIH reports that several groups of investigators have reported that treatment of bitter-melon-related products in a number of cancer cell lines induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis without affecting normal cell growth (6).