Karela: The Magic Vegetable
Karela, or bitter melon/gourd, or Momordica charantia Linn., is a powerful vegetable due to the natural therapeutic benefits it offers, to a wide variety of illnesses and health disruptions within the human body. Karela may be used for its medicinal properties when extracted from karela extract powder or the fresh, whole vegetable. Chronic hyperglycemia is a common cause for use of karela as a natural alternative to controlling blood sugar levels. From personal experience, I have found that sugar causes my psoriasis to become inflamed and itchier. The most intriguing part of karela was its properties that delayed effects related to maintenance of blood glucose levels, and returning glucose values normal (Virda et. al., 2003).
Although Karela is most commonly used for its medicinal qualities for diabetes, I believe that it may also be a highly beneficial plant to those who suffer from psoriasis. Virdi et. al., introduce a study that proves the diabetic benefits that arise from constant usage of karela extract. On the opposing side, in ancient medicine, the fruit, leaves, seeds, and roots of karela were used in the Indian system of medicine for numerous diseases, excluding diabetes (Virdi et. al., 2003). Therefore, if properly extracted, and consumed on a regular basis, karela may have the potential to improve psoriasis.
Unfortunately, I did not capture the entire process of extracting the whole, fresh vegetable but I do have a photo that I would like to share of the plant, as guidance to purchasing the right vegetable when grocery shopping. Here is the photo of five whole pieces of Karela or Momordica charantia Linn.:
June 20, 2017
Here is a written version of the step by step process to extract and prepare karela in the form of tea:
Step 1: Cut karela horizontally; thickness: 1 cm
Step 2: Remove any seeds from the vegetable
Step 3: Place karela in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes
Step 4: Strain karela and save the tea, making sure to eliminate any pulp
Step 5: Flavour: highly personal - I would recommend a lot of honey and citrus to counteract the natural bitter flavour of the tea. You may also add a strongly tea bag for additional flavour, whole cloves, and many other natural dried fruit/herbal teas.
The first time I tried the karela tea, I did not flavour it with much sweetener in order to get a taste of it in its pure form. Unfortunately, the bitterness was unbearable. Luckily, with additional flavouring agents, the tea was far more enjoyable and tasty depending on how you prefer your tea.
If I continue to extract karela from with fresh vegetable form, I will follow up with an in depth step by step tutorial on how I personally prepare my karela tea. In addition, I am hoping to see changes in my psoriasis with more frequent consumption of karela tea. If it is effective, this may potentially become a treatment proposed to those who suffer from psoriasis instead of focusing the medicinal benefits of the vegetable solely on treating diabetes.
References:
Virdi, J., Sivakami, S., Sharani, S., Surhar, A. C., Banavalikar, M. M., & Biyani, M. K. (2003). Antihyperglycemic effects of three extracts from Momordica charantia. Journal of Ethnophramacology. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/science/article/pii/S0378874103001843
