Health Benefits of Ampalaya
Rose May Pimentel in Health
Feb 08, 2021 • 3 min Read
Bitter gourd or bitter melon is known as ampalaya in Pilipino is one of the healthiest vegetables, full of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Its bitter taste is balanced by the wide range of health benefits that ampalaya has to offer. It has been considered as nature’s answer to diabetes. It is also endorsed as an alternative herbal medicine for liver problems by the Department of Health.
In the Philippines, it is prepared into various dishes like stir-fried with ground beef and oyster sauce, and many others.
Here are some of the amazing benefits of ampalaya, which we’ve sourced from Go Natural:
1. Diabetes
It’s not just folk medicine that got it right. Several studies have shown that bitter melon’s fruit and leaves help lower glucose levels in patients with diabetes, as evidenced in studies available in Nutrition and Diabetes, The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Current Diabetes Reviews, Food, and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, among others.
2. Osteoporosis
Bitter melon also contains a high amount of Vitamin K, a mineral essential to helping build stronger bones and prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin K works in tandem with calcium to maintain greater bone density.
3. Eyesight
The ayurvedic treatment uses the roots of bitter melon to help control eye disorders and enhance a patient’s eyesight since this plant also contains Vitamin A, a mineral that helps your cornea and eye membranes to function. The leaves can also be used to treat inflammations including eye infections.
4. Liver
Bitter melon can also help detoxify the liver, thanks to its hepatic qualities. Some studies resulted in a decrease in toxins in the liver.
5. Inflammation
Bitter melon is also found to have anti-inflammatory effects. Some use the leaves with coconut oil to help with body pains associated with rheumatism, arthritis, and gout.
6. Cancer
Research indicated that bitter melon juice can kill pancreatic cancer cells. Another study found that bitter melon can cause cell death to HL60 cells or human leukemia cells. The researchers used different parts of the vegetable, including seed extracts, pericarp, and placenta. Research also shows that bitter melon extracts can help enhance the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy agents in colon cancer.
7. Weight loss
Bitter melon can help those who are trying to lose weight since it contains enzymes that break down fat. On top of this, bitter melon is also high on water content, effectively suppressing appetite. A 100-gram bitter melon juice, in fact only contains 34 calories.
8. Immune system
With compounds like catechin, gallic acid, and caffeic acid, research denote that leaf, stem, and fruit extracts of bitter melon have high antioxidant properties that can further improve your immune system.
9. Kidney
As mentioned above, bitter melon helps in controlling weight. Since obese people have increased chances of having kidney stones, eating bitter melon would help you not to go over your calorie limit. Moreover, each pod provides high-fiber and low-sodium content, two things that would help prevent kidney stones. Lastly, a serving of bitter melon provides just the right amount of Vitamin C without risking the development of calcium kidney stones.
10. Cholesterol
The properties of bitter melon that help lower cholesterol go together with its ability to lower one’s glycemic index.
Indeed, bitter gourd is a superfood. Even though you are not fond of it, go try to consume it and get its benefits!
Stay healthy and safe!
