Fix sugar levels with bitter gourd

I am 40, and have been diagnosed with diabetes. Friends recommend drinking bitter gourd juice. But I find it extremely unpalatable. What kind of flavouring can I add? Any other foods that don’t taste as bitter and can help me?
—Nakul Arya

Bitter gourd (karela) has three active substances that have anti-diabetic properties: charantin, vicine, and — the most effective of them all — lectin. Lectin is known to reduce blood sugar concentration by acting on the peripheral tissues and suppressing appetite — similar to the effect of insulin on the brain. So yes, it has been established that karela does help in the management of diabetes. However, it is ‘bitter’ and is an acquired taste, just like alcohol. The same way, you will acquire a taste for this magic juice as well. If I were you I would make a stronger effort to like it as this is helping my body and not harming it (like alcohol). You can mix some other more palatable vegetables to the juice like tomato, dudhi and/or spinach to dilute the bitterness. Add a dash of lime, and slurp it down. Learn to make friends with the right food so that you don’t need the wrong doctors.

Pooja Makhija
Consulting nutritionist and clinical dietitian

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Mail your queries at: dnahealthpage@gmail.com; you can contact Pooja at: pooja@nourishgenie.com