Rumors about [eating XX food] can cure [XX disease] emerge one after another. In those days, Zhang Wuben’s theory of [mung bean curing all diseases] had already fallen to the ground. Recently, there have been many statements such as “eating balsam pear and okra to cure diabetes”. Tracing back to the source, This is closely related to the belief in [dietotherapy] rooted in people’s hearts. The so-called [medicine divides three poison], In the face of the threat of disease, People are eager for a kind of popular food in nature to meet the dual needs of feeding and curing diseases at the same time. The dietotherapy myth existing in the novel is in < < Condor Hero > >, The “Ice Spirit Needle” in the Little Dragon Lady is highly poisonous, Even the divine elixir is of no help. However, The absence of medicine does not mean that there is no cure for the disease. Let the little dragon lady regain her life, It is the [dietotherapy] that people like to see: In the deep valley under the Broken Intestine Cliff, By eating [Jade Bee Honey] and [Hantan White Fish], two delicious and [detoxifying] delicacies, In the end, he recovered completely. Here, Dietotherapy triumphed over incurable diseases. As to why, We don’t know. I’m still in the field of diabetes that I’m familiar with. Taking [Momordica charantia hypoglycemic] as an example, Discuss with you how unreliable similar [dietotherapy] views are. Is eating balsam pear the next dietotherapy myth? Judging from the nutritional composition, 100 g of balsam pear contain 93.4 g of water, 3.5 g of carbohydrate, 1 g of protein, 0.1 g of fat, 1.4 g of dietary fiber, As well as sodium, calcium, iron and other trace elements and a variety of vitamins, The contents of vitamin B1 and vitamin C are the highest in melons and fruits. To evaluate whether a food is suitable for diabetics, The most commonly used indicator is the glycemic index (GI), Momordica charantia is a typical [low GI food], The GI value is only 24, Close to cherry (22), cucumber (23), papaya (30) and the like, Far lower than carrots (71), pumpkin (75) and other foods, It has little effect on blood sugar. Simply put: Momordica charantia contains more water and less carbohydrate. Glucose index is low, It also contains dietary fiber, vitamins and trace elements necessary for human body. It is an ideal food for diabetics. However, This is only the common characteristic of most vegetables, Momordica charantia is no better than loofah, wax gourd, cucumber, papaya and other melons in these aspects. Where did the rumor that eating Momordica charantia can cure diabetes come from in the 1980s? Studies have continued to find that, Momordica charantia juice extract contains triterpenes, steroids, glycosides, polypeptides and other hypoglycemic active components, Among them, the structure of polypeptides is similar to insulin, It can simulate the physiological function of insulin, Known as plant insulin, the researchers injected the extracted polypeptide substance subcutaneously into diabetic mice, It was found that the blood sugar of mice decreased to a certain extent. It is very likely that it will spread to the common people and become [eating balsam pear can cure diabetes]. Eating balsam pear directly, Can’t achieve hypoglycemic effect [plant insulin] [pure natural] [no combination], It sounds beautiful, It is a pity that there is still a long way to go before it is implemented. Extracting hypoglycemic active ingredients from balsam pear juice, This is a complex project. Classic laboratory extraction processes include: Organic alcohol extraction, acetone precipitation, sediment water dilution, dialysis to collect supernatant, salting out, ion exchange chromatography and purification, etc. While we are in the kitchen, By braising in soy sauce, stir-frying, Or salad, It is impossible to extract these substances effectively. For example, [plant insulin] in balsam pear, A polypeptide extract that has been proved to have hypoglycemic effect by a few experiments, But it is used in a way similar to [insulin], They all play a hypoglycemic role through subcutaneous injection, intraperitoneal injection and other ways. However, it cannot be directly administered orally. Otherwise, it will be quickly metabolized and decomposed by digestive enzymes in gastrointestinal tract, This is the same reason that insulin cannot be taken orally and needs subcutaneous injection. This also reminds us: by [by] eating, Is unable to exert the hypoglycemic effect of balsam pear [plant insulin]. At the same time, In 2007, The famous American Journal of Clinical Epidemiology published a paper, In this study, The diabetic subjects were given a capsule containing balsam pear extract orally every time they ate. The trial lasted for three months, The final results show that, The blood sugar level of diabetic patients who took Momordica charantia extract orally did not differ from that of the control group. Practice has proved that, There is still a long way to go to treat diabetes by [balsam pear]. How to correctly view the hypoglycemic effect of [balsam pear] for this problem, We may learn from the story of [exenatide]. In the 1990s, Scientists have isolated a polypeptide substance from the saliva of Mexican giant lizards: Exenatide, It is found that it can mimic the action of human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), Maintain normal blood sugar by regulating the secretion of insulin and glucagon. After nearly 20 years of long research and numerous animal and human experiments, Exenatide finally entered the doctor’s prescription from lizard saliva. Now, Exenatide has become a full member of the family of hypoglycemic drugs, More and more diabetics are being treated with this drug. Similarly, balsam pear contains [hypoglycemic active ingredients], which is a scientific phenomenon and deserves in-depth study. However, at the moment when the conclusion is not clear, it is not necessary to eat too much balsam pear to reduce blood sugar, just as we will not directly eat lizards or saliva of lizards because exenatide can reduce blood sugar. Also can’t just believe that [eating balsam pear to reduce blood sugar] and delay the illness. Speaking of which, some people may be disappointed by this and turn their hopes to okra, pumpkin and fruit kernel boiling water again, because [many posts] all tell everyone that diabetes is conquered by it, turn quickly.
