The Real Truth About Diabetes Supplements

We’re pretty sure you’ve come across one or two articles online that tell you not to put too much stock into diabetes supplements as they are not clinically tested, thus unsafe, and instead rely on what your doctor told you. Which, is, in our opinion, solid enough advice. Except for one, crucial thing.

There are tons of clinical tests done to the natural ingredients of these diabetes supplements and they all point to one thing: Bitter Gourd, Bitter Melon, Ampalaya, Momordica Charantia, or whatever you call this green and wrinkled vegetable, helps normalize the blood sugar level of the body. These researches, though, are just repeating what Eastern and Southeastern Asians know for a long time, they have been using the superfood Bitter Gourd as anti-diabetic treatment for the past hundreds of years or so.

So, what could this ugly (let’s be honest here) yet highly medicinal vegetable have that makes it very effective when dealing with high blood sugar?

Anti-Diabetic Compound                                     

The answer lies in the naturally occurring compound that the Bitter Gourd has in large quantities: Polypeptide-p or p-insulin (plant insulin). This anti-diabetic compound is not found in all plants, contrary to popular belief. The importance of this compound is amplified by the fact that in 2014, there are 422 million people afflicted with diabetes, a huge jump from the 108 million in 1980. To make matters worse, an estimated 1.6 million deaths annually are directly caused by diabetes.

Now included in the roster of the deadliest diseases in the world now, diabetes is predicted by the World Health Organization to be the seventh leading cause of death by 2030. Furthermore, there is a massive increase in diabetic prevalence among adults over 18 years of age, from a low 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014.

With such worrying statistics, it is no wonder that there is a massive interest in the only superfood that contains a compound that has been clinically tested to normalize the body’s blood sugar level.

Bitter Gourd and Clinical Studies

A simple search online will turn up tons of reputable studies published in international science journals all attesting to the ability of the Bitter Gourd to help lower the blood sugar level of the body. However, there are two that stand out.

The first is a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2011 that tested if there is a connection between natural diabetes management and the superfood Bitter Gourd. The study published the results of a four-week clinical trial that showed respondents having significantly reduced blood sugar levels when administered with a 200 mg daily dose of bitter gourd.

An older study, this time in 2008 and published in the journal Chemistry and Biology stated that the Bitter Gourd increased the cellular uptake of glucose and improved the body’s glucose tolerance. In short, this superfood helps facilitate a more efficient glucose tolerance for the body.

Consider Reputation

Before you go ordering the first diabetes supplement that you see online or offline, though, a word of cation. It is much better if you’ll stick to known and trusted brands of herbal supplements before risking your health and well-being with supplements that make all sorts of absurd claims.

Check if the herbal supplement for diabetes that you want to buy has International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) certifications, this will ensure that the product is of top-notch quality. Next, see if the manufacturer and the ingredients indicated on the packaging, if the herbal supplement that you want to buy is leery of identifying its manufacturer and ingredients, then you should be leery about buying that too.

Lastly, loom for products that have undergone clinical testing. We know that the Bitter Gourd can definitely help with diabetes, however, how sure are you that the herbal supplement that says it has Bitter Gourd actually has enough of the superfood to make it potent? For all we know it might be filled with fillers.

Ampalaya Plus, the Go Natural herbal supplement for diabetes, possess all of those. It has both ISO and CGMP certifications, its manufacturer and ingredients are prominently displayed on the packaging, and the most important of all, it has undergone fairly rigorous clinical trials.