{"id":4691,"date":"2020-01-12T17:13:36","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T01:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integrativewellnessandmovement.com\/iwmblog\/?p=4691"},"modified":"2020-01-24T10:32:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T18:32:27","slug":"chinese-bitter-melon-cucumber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integrativewellnessandmovement.com\/iwmblog\/frommykitchen\/chinese-bitter-melon-cucumber\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Bitter Melon\/Cucumber"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chinese bitter melon. Photo \u00a92020 Shirley Chung.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Momordica charantia<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese bitter melon\/cucumber (of the Cucurbitaceae <\/em>family) is shaped like a large American cucumber. Bitter melon (typically 7-9 inches in length) has a very deeply “wrinkled-looking” grass-green (as opposed to the darker colored skin of the American cucumber) soft skin and has tapered ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Habitat\/Growing Information.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The plant prefers heat (warm to hot) & moisture–a somewhat tropical climate for at least 3-4 months to grow to maturity. Plant them late spring or when the weather is consistently 75 to 80 degrees F. Like cucumbers, the bitter melon grows on a vine. Trellises may be useful to keep the growing melons from touching the ground. Keep the soil moist and well-drained–not waterlogged. Harvest while it is green–at its best. As it ripens\/over-ripens it goes from green to yellow to orange. Each plant produces 10-12 melons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parts utilized.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Similar to the cucumber, the flesh is used (sometimes dehydrated) and the seeds are discarded. You can use it to stir-fry or even stuffed or in soups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dehydrated bitter melon. Photo \u00a92020 Shirley Chung<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Properties.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The amount of bitterness depends on the melon’s color. Green bitter melons tend to be the most bitter; white bitter melons are less bitter. As a member of the Cucurbitaceae <\/em>family, these vegetables are rich in phenolic compounds, vitamin A and C and iron (Islam & Jalaluddin, 2019). The bitter melon also had higher contents of potassium, calcium, magnesium, dietary fiber, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin than other more common staple vegetables found in grocery stores (Islam & Jalaluddin, 2019 ). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other researchers have found the bitter melon’s effects to be antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-ulcerogenic, anti-tumor, antimutagenic, anti-lipolytic, analgesic, antiviral, analgesic, abortifacient, hypoglycemic, and immunomodulatory (Islam & Jalauddin, 2019; Jia, Shen, Zhang, & Xie, 2017; Shivanagoudra et al., 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shivanagoudra et al. (2019) found bitter melon extracts to stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic cells, to protect pancreatic B-cells from inflammation, and to reduce lipid proliferation in adipocytes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitter melon has been used for hundreds of years in Asia, but further research is needed to uncover all of its “secrets” including a dose-response profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n