Bitter melon (also known as Momordica charantia or bitter gourd) is a plant that gets its name from its taste. It becomes more and more bitter as it ripens. It grows​ ...BitterMelonandDiabetesMedicallyreviewedbyLisaHodgson,RDN,CDN,CDCES—WrittenbyNatalieSilver—UpdatedonFebruary24,2021BittermelonanddiabetesHealthbenefitsFormsanddosesRisksandcomplicationsTakeawayBittermelon(alsoknownasMomordicacharantiaorbittergourd)isaplantthatgetsitsnamefromitstaste.Itbecomesmoreandmorebitterasitripens.Itgrowsinanumberofareas,includingAsia,SouthAmerica,theCaribbean,andEastAfrica.Peoplehaveusedbittermelonforavarietyofmedicalconditionsovertime.Bittermeloncontainsmanynutrientsthatcanbebeneficialtoyourhealth.It’slinkedtoloweringbloodsugar,whichsomestudiessuggestmeansitcanaidindiabetestreatment.Bittermelonisconsideredacomplementaryoralternativemedicine.Therefore,theuseofbittermelonisn’tapprovedbytheFoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)forthetreatmentofdiabetesoranyothermedicalcondition.WhattheresearchsaysaboutbittermelonanddiabetesBittermelonislinkedtoloweringthebody’sbloodsugar.Thisisbecausethebittermelonhaspropertiesthatactlikeinsulin,whichhelpsbringglucoseintothecellsforenergy.Theconsumptionofbittermeloncanhelpyourcellsuseglucoseandmoveittoyourliver,muscles,andfat.Themelonmayalsobeabletohelpyourbodyretainnutrientsbyblockingtheirconversiontoglucosethatendsupinyourbloodstream.Bittermelonisn’tanapprovedtreatmentormedicationforprediabetesordiabetesdespitetheevidencethatitcanmanagebloodsugar.Severalstudieshaveexaminedbittermelonanddiabetes.Mostrecommendconductingmoreresearchbeforeusinganyformofthemelonfordiabetesmanagement.Herearetwostudiesthataddressbittermelonanddiabetes:AreportintheCochraneDatabaseofSystematicReviewsconcludedthatmorestudiesareneededtomeasuretheeffectsofbittermelonontype2diabetes.Italsocitedtheneedformoreresearchonhowitcanbeusedfornutritiontherapy.AstudyintheJournalofEthnopharmacologycomparedtheeffectivenessofbittermelonwithacurrentdiabetesdrug.Thestudyconcludedthatbittermelondi