Medical Benefits Of Bitter Melon - Momordica Charantia L

Medical Benefits Of Bitter Melon - Momordica Charantia L
Other Common Names: Ampalaya, Balsam pear, Bitter cucumber, Bitter gourd, Foo gwa, Karela, La-kwa, Momordica charantia L.

Range: China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan.

Ampalaya (Tagalog) or Amargozo (Aklanon). Known in the west as
Chinese bitter melon or bitter gourd, ampalaya became popular in the
news recently because of its putative medicinal value especially
against HIV/AIDS (Compound Q). The truth is, it is considered medicinal
by many native herbolarios. In folk medicine, the more bitter this
vegetable is, the more medicinal value it has. It's really an ugly
looking vegetable and considered an acquired taste because of its
bitterness. The smaller (or more elongate) and greener variety is more
bitter than the larger (or plumper) pale green ones that are usually
found in Asian-American markets.

Momordica charantia is a plant used for centuries in traditional
Indian, Chinese, and African pharmacopeia as laxative, anthelminthic
and abortive. Fruit is useful in gout, rheumatism and sub-acute cases
of the spleen and liver. Doctors in India are so confident of bitter
melon's positive effect on diabetics, they dispense bitter melon in
some of the most modern hospital.

Try it as an omelet or as a salad (with onions, tomatoes, and
cilantro in vinaigrette dressing) in between courses to clean your
palate. As a main dish, ampalaya con carne with black bean sauce is
also wonderful - the saltiness of the black beans counteracts the
bitterness - and pinakbet (a melange of tropical vegetables like
squash, eggplant, string beans and amplaya in piquant shrimp paste
sauce) is heavenly. The young leaves (ampalaya tops) are also used in
dishes like ginisang monggo.

A medium-size bitter melon has only about 20 calories and contains potassium, folate and vitamin C.

Here's a tip: to remove the bitterness, roll sliced ampalaya pieces in salt; the juice will start to flow; squeeze the juices some more.