GAJANAN KHERGAMKER SAYS THE HUMBLE KARELA IS ONE OF THE BEST VEGETABLE TO HELP YOUR BODY

Italmost seems as if the better the food tastes, the worse it is for your system.

Almost furthering that logic, karela as bitter gourd is known popularly, is a panacea for most health problems. Right from being rich in iron, beta- carotene and potassium, making it perfect for the heart, it helps tackle constipation boosts blood circulation in the human system.

Power to detox Its owing to karelas immensely powerful detoxifying effect that most believe it helps in slimming too. The surge in vitamins and minerals helps prevent complications such as hypertension, neuritis and carbohydrate- related issues. Its of little wonder then that karela juice is packaged and sold early mornings to joggers or exercise buffs at parks across the nation.

Role in Diabetes Where karelas role in type 2 diabetes is concerned, the research is phenomenal.

The vegetable has been used for centuries as traditional Chinese medicine to treat Diabetes. But it was only a few years back that teams from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica pulped roughly a tonne of fresh bitter melon and extracted four very promising bioactive components in an attempt to document the findings.

These four compounds all appear to activate the enzyme AMPK, a protein well known for regulating fuel metabolism and enabling glucose uptake. It was at a molecular level that bitter melon worked as a treatment for diabetes.

Those afflicted with Type 2 diabetes have an impaired ability to convert the sugar in their blood into energy in their muscles.

This is partly because they don't produce enough insulin and partly because their fat and muscle cells don't use insulin effectively, a phenomenon known as 'insulin resistance'. Those who exercise land up activating AMPK in muscle, which in turn mediates the movement of glucose transporters to the cell surface, a very important step in the uptake of glucose from the circulation into tissues in the body.

The four compounds isolated in bitter melon perform a very similar action to that of exercise, in that they activate AMPK. The Garvan scientists involved in the project said that while there are well- known diabetes drugs that activate AMPK, they have a host of side effects. The best thing about bitter melon aka bitter gourd or karela is that there are no known side effects.

Helps in Piles Too Also, in case of piles, the fresh juice of bitter gourd is prescribed for a cure.

Apparently, three teaspoons of juice of the bitter Gourd leaves extracted each morning added to a glassful of buttermilk and consumed on an empty stomach cures piles in around thirty days. Even externally, the paste of the leaves of the piles is said to work wonders when applied over hemorrhoids.

For Skin Disorders Karela is often used to treat skin issues such as scabies, itching, psoriasis, ringworm and other fungal diseases. Also, ingesting a cup of fresh juice of bitter gourd mixed with a teaspoon of lime juice should be consumed on an empty stomach. Half a cup of fresh bitter gourd juice mixed with lime juice or half a lemon, taken on an empty stomach once a day is said to purify blood and keep the skin clear of all sorts of boils and diseases. The juice has an antiseptic property and can be used in an emergency to dress minor cuts, wounds and burns.