Bitter melon takes a hold of diabetes

Bitter melon… have you heard of it? It is an old Chinese traditional medicine, not to mention vegetable. Researchers took about a ton of this very beautiful green veggie and extracted pulp to study on a molecular level how it aids in type 2 diabetes.

Here is how it works- it is quite fascinating.

Exercise activates 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. This is a major reason that exercise is recommended as part of the normal treatment program for someone with Type 2 diabetes. The four compounds isolated in bitter melon perform a very similar action to that of exercise, in that they activate AMPK.

Feel free to give it a try as there are no known side effects to date of bitter melon.

via Science daily