Doctor, is Bitter Gourd (Bitter Melon) good for DIABETES?

Bitter gourd, also known as bitter melon, is well known for its blood sugar lowering properties and I often get asked by many people, including my patients, this question, 'Doctor, is bitter gourd / bitter melon good for diabetes'
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Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle and Diet to combat chronic diseases
What's covered in this video
0:00 Intro - 'Doctor, is Bitter Gourd good for Diabetes?'
0:33 Bitter Gourd - what it is. Also known as Bitter Melon
1:02 Bitter Gourd - known for its blood lowering properties
1:30 'Is Bitter Gourd good for Diabetes?' even the correct question to ask?
2:10 Diabetes Management - Controlling Blood Sugar is not the only goal
2:43 Adding Bitter Gourd to diet occasionally not an adequate or effective management of diabetes
2:50 How much does Bitter Gourd lower blood sugar? Is it consistent?
3:23 Controlling post meal sugar spikes needs holistic dietary habits overhaul
3:40 Bitter Gourd is like a Fire Extinguisher, extinguishing the Fire (Blood Sugar Spike) after meals
4:08 Successful Diabetes management requires Holistic Dietary Modifications
4:23 People with Diabetes need to critically review their diets
4:54 People with Diabetes should work closely with their medical professionals for holistic management of Diabetes
5:05 See Bitter Gourd as Food, should not see Bitter Gourd as a medicinal food or supplement
In this video, I shall talk about the role of bitter gourd / bitter melon in the management of diabetes and also tackle some of the common mistakes and misconceptions that people have regarding foods that have potential blood sugar lowering properties and the role of such foods in the management of diabetes.
#DrChanTatHon #TheHabitsDoctor #TheDailyDosebyDrCHAN
Dr Chan Tat Hon, The Daily Dose by Dr Chan, The Habits Doctor

[@eclxqleclxql6086]

In the entire video, there's only one message. Managing Diabetes doesn't depends on only eating a portion of Bitter gourd daily.

[@silviaborsa2123]

Well explained, thank you Doctor.

[@nishanish1146]

Thank you for your great advice 👍👍👍

[@ItsRealyReall]

Well- explained. Thank you. :)

[@thestones2789]

1st time hearing about this vegetable, thank you Doctor.

[@maineramos252]

Thanks for your sharing your yummy recipe

[@doogiehowser78]

thankyou doctor for explaining , im in new zealand and my local vege market has just started selling this vegetable and ive never seen it before , the indian lady at the shop told me of its medical benefits and how its used in a lot of countries so i tried it and i must say i really like it so will save the seeds and try grow it next summer time

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

Hi Hi, delighted that you found the video useful. If you can get hold of some bottled Chinese Black Bean Sauce or fermented black bean - usually available at Chinese / Asian supermarkets, use some of that to stir-fry sliced bitter gourd, really yummy! Stir fry bitter gourd with black bean sauce is my wife's favourite bitter gourd dish. :-)

[@doogiehowser78]

@@TheHabitsDoctor that sounds really nice i will get some from our local Asian supermarket and try it , i actually like bitter sour food and spicy food ive been cooking it and adding lots of garlic , chilly and small amount of beef or pork and other veges but will try some black bean sauce i will buy today , thanks doctor

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

@@doogiehowser78, yes because of the strong bitter taste of bitter gourd, it does well with strong flavoured sauces and condiments, the contrast can be yummy. If you can get hold of black bean sauce, you can add in garlic and chilli too, it'll be yummy. I am v interested in cooking because I was a full-time chef at a restaurant I operated for a few years up till 2019, I was then working as a chef on top of running my medical practice :-). Have fun exploring and experimenting with bitter gourd, best regards, Doc.

[@jrccandleco7939]

very very well explained! Thank you for uncovering the misconceptions of the use of bitter gourd. Its not a magic pill.. it will help achieve our goal, but we as people need to bea healthy all the way around!

[@donya37]

I understand perfectly what he is saying. Eating bitter melon is somewhat like a pill you still have to eat healthy for it to work.

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

Glad you got my intended message in my video.. Blessings, Dr Chan

[@naaniyenllcuisine4201]

Bitter gourd is very good but very bitter and resulted to the supplements which results proved reduced sugar level felt good. Now have changed my diets slightly and have open mind to eating things I don't like eg bitter gourd differently would revisit bitter again this time with fresh ones and incorporate in my meals use supplement when I travel

[@ValidityJ]

I really enjoyed this video. Very balanced, reasonable, approach.

[@kimchee94112]

Be careful taking blood sugar medication with bitter melon, it could lower sugar level to dangerous levels. I eat this bitter melon 5 times a week, sometimes raw. Can't stand it when I was a kid, but enjoying it in my old age. Just stumbled into this channel, it has so much information - subscribed!

[@BLACKBURNEKIDS]

How much would you eat per portion, and can it be raw?

[@kimchee94112]

@@BLACKBURNEKIDS I've slow down per availability at the supermarket. Raw about 1/2 of a melon or less, sliced about 1/4" across as a snack. Or stir fry with with flank steak across the grain, some Chinese restaurants should have it on the menu. China acquired bitter melon from India during the 14th century. Check the Indian recipes as well.

[@user-ej2iz8cz4t]

You are so confusing

[@kimchee94112]

@@user-ej2iz8cz4t What parts you don't understand? Bitter melon are bitter, kids don't like it. Or the part it lowers blood sugar?

[@geecox4640]

Where do u get it from

[@TheboysandMauriceAdventures]

I had gestational diabetes with my second baby. I ate bitter gourd everyday and my bgl was way too low like 2.5 mmol😅 so for me in my opinion is it very effective and does lowers the insulin

[@endytimoschuk7021]

So you ate it while you're pregnant? Glad to know that it's safe for pregnant women to consume it.

[@almondlatte92]

@@endytimoschuk7021I looked up how to cook bitter melon on line and there was a warning not to consume when pregnant as it can cause uterine cramps and increase risk of miscarriage.

[@shirlwong3229]

Bitterguord good for PPAR activation which ultimately helps in diabetic control.

[@franmasawi7366]

Thank you!

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

Glad you found it useful. Best Regards, Dr Chan

[@futureplan2010]

Excellent doc. How do you make bitter gourd fermented ones that you have in the video?

[@edwardwong654]

The gourds are not fermented, rather the dish is cooked with fermented black beans - a salty paste w/black beans. You can find it in your Asian grocer.

[@maxandmaggie2010]

Dr. Chan have you heard of people saying. drinking bitter melon tea and Mangosteen (fruit ) coffee/ tea are good for diabetics ?

[@mrsshakoor5038]

How to we use in diet in daily base??

[@basiliogrullon15]

Gracias

[@kalashrestha3251]

Today I cut into pieces and put boiling water and I strain it and put it in blender and drink it. I feel so much better

[@sammykobayashisan]

I love bitter gourd like crazy

[@yamarblackburn5642]

Hi doctor thank you for sharing this wonderful information about bitter melon I've been questioning with myself if I can really pallet this fruit I would like to try it how you tried it with fermented being sauce for the first time thank you

[@DANCEWITHSTYLEHK]

What about having bitter gourd as a juice once a day rather than in food..Will it help in reducing diabetes? Please reply

[@jonathanlouid3752]

It works for me on a empty stomach in the morning

[@hazarachoudhury1750]

Fenugreek is it good to eat to loose weight... Please let me know.. Thank you

[@roberthalny403]

Thanks Dr. Chan. I have a question. The famous NY Chef Bouley in one of his YT videos said something about adding some kind of grain or seed to rice that lowers the sugar level. Do you know what is that ingredient? Sincerely, Robert

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

Not familiar with this Chef Bouley nor this 'hack' to lower the sugar of rice, but in general, I wold always advocate doing the simple stuff well, for eg. if the blood sugar spike of a portion of rice is unhealthy for a person, then the best thing to do is to reduce/adjust the portion size accordingly :-) Thanks for dropping by my channel and for leaving a comment, cheers, Doc

[@domingopartida5812]

Acarbose 😬 (NAD FYI)

[@roberthalny403]

@@domingopartida5812 Thanks, but isn’t it a drug? Chef Bouley mentioned a mountain seed, or grain, used by some famous Chinese chef. What is NAD?

[@nurfiazafiraismael679]

Eat your rice with some beans. Beans have lots of fibers soluble and insoluble . It will slow down your digestion in your gut and doesn't spike the blood sugar

[@roberthalny403]

@@nurfiazafiraismael679 Yes, Ive Heard that. Thanks for your input.

[@altheaprass]

TY

[@stevenzheng5459]

Stir fried with fermented black beans is the way to go!

[@MytempusIC]

I grew up eating this veg in Sri Lanka . 🇱🇰

[@samdylonh]

I used to hate this bitter melon. Now I force myself to eat it and found a recipe I like. Make this into soup with pork ribs or Chicken.

[@thinkingahead2233]

Misleading title. The doctor talked about importance of overall life style to lower Diabetes. It is useful, but there are people who really want to understand the health benefits of bitter melon and feel deceived by the video title.

[@solidust23]

Nah. The guy is right, you must consider your entire diet, not look for a magic cure.. change your diet.

[@sarwanchand9275]

Thank you doctor.

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

Most welcome!

[@jennylai865]

Good

[@MyChilepepper]

Lol, people usually eat it with lots of rice which defies any health benefit.

[@LisePlansandJournals]

Exactly

[@terrorteffa]

Rubbish.

[@rajendrarughani7727]

I am diabetic can i drink 1 bitter gourd juice empty stomach for Life long?

[@florenceledgister7327]

Doc, I listen to you often enough but today you were long-winded. You know what people want to know so cut the controversial question and say what people NEED to know. I eat raw oats with Cranberries or raisins AND seeds three times a week. not daily despite the fibre and positive effect on chol- esterol levels. Iam Diabetic T 2, have my primary care Dr. and diversify my diet per what I glean from Drs. videos. Thank you all. I keep a watch on my diet for kid- ney health. Thanks again. 🤔😏😊🌴

[@icomment4692]

where can get it in the uk??

[@kellyb8237]

Asian supermarket

[@lod4246]

Yo, this guy's Doctor Roger

[@marconipatindol1525]

Evrery day xa pwede inomin doc

[@almaveronicagutierrezdevel7973]

Will this cause blurry vision?

[@amcrafteev6164]

I looove bitter gourd ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@sherrytok2501]

Bitter gourd yes, so to lady fingers, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, ...👍🙏🥰

[@zwmcontact]

Bittergourd 1200mg pill + Metformin 9000mg + reclide mr 90mg = boom!!!

[@RS-ig1zr]

Long story short, it depends.

[@kaherbalplantph808]

hi wow my favorite bitter gourd that true Doctor Chan.

[@TheHabitsDoctor]

Glad to find a fellow fan of bitter gourd 😀, how do you like it prepared? what is your favourite bitter gourd recipe?

[@vilmallenaresas2024]

I like to eat bitter gourd

[@almaveronicagutierrezdevel7973]

Will it dehydrate you?

[@karunamayiholisticinc]

I have been looking for bitter gourd recipes. I hated it all my life. It's called Karela in our language and it tastes terrible. May be I should try with black bean sauce. Do you add a little sugar to it to remove bitterness at all? It is indeed a healthy food. So would want to start cooking it. Just very nervous of the bitter taste.

[@miyazakiendo3743]

The secret to take out the bitterness of that bittermelon is you have to chop them tiny and put some salt. Sit it for like 20 minutes, squish some if the liquid. And rinse them till there’s no salt and squish them again. Fry some onions, tomatoes, garlic. Put salt or to make it tasty put chicken powder. Then put the chop bittermelon. Cook it for 10min and add eggs, they’re good and healthy. I’m Asian and I prefer the Chinese one because it’s less bitter than the Indian

[@karunamayiholisticinc]

@@miyazakiendo3743 Thanks. I am vegetarian so can not add chicken powder or eggs. But will try the squishing technique with salt. :) I don't have diabetes nor anyone in my family has. But will still want to start eating bitter gourd as it is very nutritious. Would definitely want my children to eat it from their very young age. If I have to bare the bitterness to teach them to eat beyond their taste buds for their health, then I will gladly tolerate the bitterness. But will still try the squishing technique you said. Hopefully that will reduce bitterness. Thanks 🙂

[@miyazakiendo3743]

@@karunamayiholisticinc yes only a few water will got out of the bittermelon and bitterness still healthy because you’re eating the greens. My kids loved it. We ate them all the time when I go Asian groceries we don’t have any diabetic in our family also. We are just growing up eating veggies. That’s great to hear be safe.

[@EllaFreshty]

@@karunamayiholisticinc hey I'm vegetarian too I eat this often, @Miyazaki Endo 's suggestion is a good basis, I do the salt method to reduce the bitterness then fry it with onion, tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, okra, celery, carrot, green beans. I season it with pepper, scotch bonnet and a Maggi cube. Tastes good! I use the spikey dark green ones.

[@asabifatosin1150]

@@EllaFreshty Maggi cubes are not healthy though.

[@tariqkhokhar5119]

Please be brief, direct and avoid unnecessary clatter

[@user-ql1dn2sc6o]

Qanday kasallikka davo buu usimlik

[@maha_studios]

I was told to only drink it 1-2 times a week because it can be toxic if taken too often. Your thoughts?

[@MrOscar5690]

Drink how much?

[@dinaparas5718]

We mixed bitter melon with eggplants & squash sautéed with garlic onios & tomatoes with shrimps or any .meat you like ! also if you make lentil or Mongo beans soup put some slices of bitter gourd is also good .Of course this is for my own t aste buds .You cN try it see if you like it?

[@Nawhaipaw]

I had a terrible yeast infection for 4 days and it was so bad that my vagina was swollen with pain and itchy like crazy. I ate Bitter Melon my sister cook. I ate it because that is the only thing my sister cooks and for the next two days I feel no itch or pain. That was really weird. I wonder why all of sudden my vagina was better? Then, I remember I ate bitter melons two days ago. It's a natural medicine. If you know how to cook them they will taste good.

[@FoodieNYC]

I posted a yummy bitter gourd curry recipe if you want to check it out 😀😀

[@chopsticksforlegs]

Tmi

[@shamilasingh2168]

I love it but I take it in pill form

[@kerkersgroove]

It's on Amazon

[@zabinayassim5677]

Does the pill have the same benefits as the juice?

[@shamilasingh2168]

@@zabinayassim5677 Probably I've never juiced.

[@avatv5]

i bought this thing i did not knew its bitter I threw it garbage😁😁

[@namasanda]

But it's okay to take medicine for the rest of your life. No questions asked.

[@lauraskitchen5706]

You didn't answer what properties it has or how it helps! I want the science of it not just about everything else you need to do on top to control diabetes.

[@syednadeemahmed20]

Bitter gourd juice one glass a day feel suger killed inside by this bitter juice

[@seanreeves6122]

Biabetus Mellitus

[@Johnny4ME2U]

Dr. Your giving me a headache, answer the question... WE WANT THE TRUTH!!

[@eatshit8546]

He doesn't want to answer it he makes money off the western medicine

[@candetect7576]

Good news for people who have type 2 diabetic...blood sugar 475 drink smoothie bitter melon one in the morning on empty stomach after half hour you can have breakfast and one in the evening for 1 month blood sugar from 475 down to 100 (add one measuring cup of water blend with once bitter melon remove seeds)

[@JackieLarose]

Bitter melon is good and low in your blood sugar, but it might be too low, so don’t drink it often drink once a week

[@MariAmmaSar]

Ong Lai are always getting it WRONG - that "bitter gourd" in this video is the common Chinese bitter gourd, which is hardly bitter. You should be having the Indian bitter gourd, which is much more bitter. But then, you still wont, will you ?

[@sayeennor1658]

Some people just can not help beating around the bush! doc, I'm am glad I'm not your pateint.

[@CoFFee123..]

I agree. I was waiting anxiously for his answer: just say “ Yes.” People who have diabetic issues ONLY wants to know whether bitter melon can prevent glucose spikes. And his answers aren’t helpful at all. Instead of having bitter melon for every meals, he could have suggested bitter melon capsules after each meal . One would have to eat a lot of bitter melon during meals to get the desired effect.

[@justjustjustify]

cannot belief in doctors these days, they are llike robots following what they read, i lost 40 kg with intermittent water only fasting, and living the best days of my life for last 1 year, maintaining my weight , cured my blood pressure , diabetes, and many other obesity related complications, but doctors always against this form of diet, i even spoke to my doctor when i was obese and he told me do not do it, this is bad for health, just eat normal balance diet, the so called balance diet is it even balance is defined by these coporate doctors, always busy selling their drugs and treating you with chemicals, the cure is in the nature itself, eat less, walk more, drink water, that is all you need to do, to live a healthy life

[@dropattierupnarain]

U repeat urself n still can't get to the point. Ur a doc

[@Blu_coffee]

Bitter god or bitter goat? 😂😂😂

[@Hindimoviesfree777]

Elrubbish talk come to the point

[@MavHunter20XX]

Do know what helps with diabetes? Cut out the carbs and sugars. Bitter melons are bitter for a reason.

[@sayeennor1658]

why can you never answer the question straight. i never find your videos helpful

[@lwoods9482]

Bitter melon is not the magical cure alone. You will need to change your eating habits, exercise everyday starting off with 15min a day and increase as you get better, and drink lots of water. Most importantly...see a doctor.

[@Kittiesdawn]

Oh my life! I came here for an ANSWER! Clearly a mistake! You sure like the sound of your own voice! Waste of time...don’t bother!