Naturalsociety.com, By; Christina Sarich, 09/11/2013
Bitter gourd, also known as karela or bitter melon, is a vegetable found all over Asia with some newly proven, astounding health benefits. A study published in the scientific journal Carcinogenesis has shown that bitter gourd juice restricts the ability of pancreatic cancer cells to metabolize glucose, and in the process cuts off the cancer’s energy source, effectively killing them. Anomalous cancer cells in the pancreas have no chance to grow with bitter gourd, but the fruit also helps to regulate pancreatic secretions, an important function that many diabetics have trouble doing on their own.
Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, co-programme leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Colorado University Cancer Center, said that these findings were due to an ‘alteration in metabolic events in pancreatic cancer cells and an activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase, an enzyme that indicates low energy levels in the cells.’
