Bitter Melon Nutrition Facts Essay

Bitter melon vine is the immature pod vegetable, popular in many an(prenominal) Asian countries. This widely grown as edible pod is, in fact, among the most change taste of all culinary vegetables. Bitter melon is a temperate /tropical vegetable probably originated in South-East Asia. bid other members of the Cucurbitaceae family, this install is a fast-growing, trailing or uprise vine with thin stems and tendrils and requires trellis to support the climbing vine. The pods argon characterized by flavorless lengthwise ridges and uneven pebbly surface. Depending upon the cultivar type, immature pods are light to racy green and have oblong or oval shapes with a pointed crown at the blossom end. Internally, the flesh is white with rough edged seeds, close to similar to ridge gourd seeds. As the fruits begin to mature, they gradually let go yellow or orange.Health benefits of Bitter gourd * The vegetable is rattling low in calories, providing just 17 calories per 100g. Neverthel ess, its pods are rich in phytonutrients like dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. * Bitter melon notably contains phyto-nutrient, polypeptide-P a plant insulin known to lower blood sugar levels. In addition, it composes hypoglycemic ingredient called charantin. Charantin increases glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in the cells of liver, muscle and adipose tissue. Together, these compounds are thought to be responsible for reduction of blood sugar levels in the treatment of type-2 diabetes.* Fresh pods are an clarified source of folates, contain to the highest degree 72 g/100g (Provides 18% of RDA). Folate helps reduce the incidence of neuronal tube defects in the newborns when taken by mothers during early pregnancy. * Fresh bitter melon is an excellent source of vitamin-C (100 g of raw pod provides 84 mg or about 140% of RDI). Vitamin-C, one of the powerful inbred antioxidants, helps the body scavenge deleterious shift radicals one of the reasons for canc er development.* It is an excellent source of health benefiting flavonoids such as -carotene, -carotene, lutein, and zea-xanthin. It similarly contains a effectual amount of vitamin A. Together these compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging, cancers and mingled disease processes. * Bitter melon stimulates easy digestion and peristalsis of food through with(predicate) the bowel until it is excreted from the body. Thus, helps in relieving indigestion and constipation problems. * In addition, the vegetable is an also good source of niacin (vitamin B-3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, manganese and magnesium. * Early laboratory tests suggest that compounds in bitter melon might be effective for treating HIV infection.