This thread can be used for us to ask each other questions, to seek support, share knowledge etc....

I am excited Paul let us try this out....
lets make it work......

west river rogue had a good thread about bitter melon (ampalya). I am trying some of the extract pills and I can say it does help to control the spikes. Looking to get some actual bitter melon and see how that works.

Awesome. I am going to try to find some as well. I have a phillipino friend who said it would be nuts to eat it raw...

Where did you find the extract?

guys the extract really doesnt work well for me. You NEVER eat bitter melon raw,,u misunderstood me Hup. I eat Sayote Raw,it taste like a raw turnip! The only way I eat ampalaya raw(and its not raw really)is to nuke it in microwave and dry it. Many filipinos just cook it as any vegetable,,fried etc. You can order the seeds and grow it same as cukes. If u cant find it ill help. Hup i dont know if u could grow it in ak or not unless u have a hothouse.
Also guys,,listen to me closely on this. I ate nothing but ampalaya 3 times a day for about a month to start,,thats where my immediate 30 pound weight drop came from,,then of course having a beautiful filipina asawa(wife)and daily morning exercise at 3 am or so doesnt hurt either.
Also cucumber peels are very good for diabetes.-steve

this morning my level was 96 on waking,,been eating alot of ice cream and chocolate lately along with hazlenut creamer and vanilla icing-not too bad huh?

WRR,
that makes more sense. The girl was like NO WAY YOU ARE eating it raw....
Cook it like a veggie she said..

Well, I have the same thing when i see some hot young things walkin around..... But since i am married I don't do it....

I have found that moderation is the hard part....
say chili cheese fritos... I love them.... and when I buy them, I try to make em last all week as a lunch snack. but they usually last 2 days....

So, since I know I have a hard time moderating the fritos, I don't buy them. When I don't have them at home to eat, I CAN'T eat them...

I guess it comes down to loving milk, or loving waking up every day... In the big picture..

here is some more on the milk. how it is treated as an exchange.

Milk is a carb. 1 cup of milk is 15 grams of carbs.
So depending on how much you drink, it will raise BS.
"Milk raises BS fairly fast, especially non-fat or low fat. Stick to 1 cup of milk at a time and limit it to 3 cups per day".
You should drink the milk w/ MEALS (not pastries..lol) to slow down absorption too.

This will sound real crazy to everyone but a local in my town has came up with a cure for diabetes. One of my bosses followed his instructions and no longer a diabetic. He had to injecect himself often and now he no longer takes insulin. This guy has helped a few people and they to are no longer diabetics. If u want to know more pm me.

Stay away from any products with corn, high oleic oil, crystalline, any syrup, and diet sodas.

Speaking of Diet soda.....

Went out to eat last night. I normally get unsweetend ice tea.

But I ordered a diet coke... I had 2 of them, ate only my portion of food.

But 2.5 hrs later my BS was 185. It has never been that high 2 hrs after meals...ever...

I came to the conclusion that the waitress gave me 1 or two Regular colas.....
I had trouble sleeping, felt like crap, and slept bad....

So from now on, only drinking unsweetend tea or water.....Don't want that to happen again...

Hup I got it from GNC

Also oatmeal helps slow the spikes as well and fills you up. Some gluten protein in the oats if I can remember from class.

Bud I know how ya feel before I was diagnosed I would quart after quart and never be sated. I walked under my own power into the ER with a 700 BS. Soon as they got it under control that next day I wasn't thirsty anymore. Its the body trying to get the sugar outta the body.

you know i never did experience the super thirsty spells or peeing alot.

WRR you are lucky. It is a horrible feeling to see the gallons of water go down and still be thirsty.

oh man, I was up peeing 4 times a night......it sucked...

not anymore though..

No it is amazing what happens once things get figured out!

i drink alot of pineapple juice and coconut water to keep my kidneys flushed out.

In Panama bitter melon is known as Balsamino. The pods are smaller and bright orange when ripe with very sweet red seeds, but only the leaves of the plant are brewed in hot water to create a tea to treat malaria and diabetes. The leaves are allowed to steep in hot water before being strained thoroughly so that only the remaining liquid is used for the tea.

Folk wisdom has it that bitter melon helps to prevent or counteract type-II diabetes. A recent scientific study at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, India, has proved that bitter melon increases insulin sensitivity.[5] Also, in 2007, the Philippine Department of Health issued a circular stating that bitter melon, as a scientifically validated herbal medicinal plant, can lower elevated blood sugar levels. The study revealed that a 100 milligram per kilo dose per day is comparable to 2.5 milligrams of the anti-diabetes drug Glibenclamide taken twice per day.[1] Bitter melon is sold in the Philippines as a food supplement and marketed under the trade name Charantia. Charantia capsules and tea are being exported to the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Korea, and parts of the Middle East.[1]


Bitter melon transformed into capsule form and sold as a food supplement.Bitter Melon contains four very promising bioactive compounds. These compounds activate a protein called AMPK, which is well known for regulating fuel metabolism and enabling glucose uptake, processes which are impaired in diabetics. "We can now understand at a molecular level why bitter melon works as a treatment for diabetes," said David James, director of the diabetes and obesity program at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney. "By isolating the compounds we believe to be therapeutic, we can investigate how they work together in our cells."[2][3][4][5] [6] [7]

Bitter melon contains a lectin that has insulin-like activity. The insulin-like bioactivity of this lectin is due to its linking together 2 insulin receptors. This lectin lowers blood glucose concentrations by acting on peripheral tissues and, similar to insulin's effects in the brain, suppressing appetite. This lectin is likely a major contributor to the hypoglycemic effect that develops after eating bitter melon and why it may be a way of managing adult-onset diabetes. Lectin binding is non-protein specific, and this is likely why bitter melon has been credited with immunostimulatory activity - by linking receptors that modulate the immune system, thereby stimulating said receptors.

http://www.healthynerd.com/2006/08/02/bi...pe-2-diabetics/

interesting one.

Im livng proof!! Also star apple bark boiled works well. I didnt spend 6 months in asia for nothing.

fasting sugar upon rising 78-before bed i ate a salad with sayote and cucumbers with lite ranch dressing

nice.

That bitter melon stuff sure is difficult to prepare in an edible manner...

LOL, too bad raw? Hup,,i thought u said it wasnt bad when u ate it raw? Try it in dishes with soy,,or the recipe jenny gave you. Even with scrambled eggs it isnt too bad. Takes getting used to it.(if thats possible)

A lady at work made me some for breakfast.
It was the bitter melon, onion and eggs with rice.


the thought made me kinda throw up in my mouth a little....

But it is the best way to eat it YET...and actually good.

She said she stir fryed the melon and onion with water, to soften the melon up.

then added the eggs...

Brought the sticky rice in another container.... It was real good.

On another note. I went to my dietician yesterday.

We talked about a few things, and I asked her about the bitter melon.
She agreed it has a hypoglycemic effect. But she said that it is unpredicatable every time you eat it. I might lower BS too much, or not at all, or in different proportions each time.

she also said the supplements are not the best, because there is no quality controls, and most all is made in China. That the amounts of bitter melon in the extracts and supplements varies alot.

She did say also, that it has been known to severly lower BS for some.and that, if you are experienceing HIGH BS, that you could eat the bitter melon to bring it down.

What works for some might not work for all, and we each need to find what works for us......

She also said that since my A1C has been 6.0 and 5.9 the last 2 times, that if the next one is below 6.0 to try with out the 500 mg of Metformin for 3 months and see what happens.
If I can control it on my own, then GOODBYE metformin...

good deal,,i just do what my body tells me now(not counting chinese food twice this week) masarap!!!

was eating too much chinese foods gained 10 pounds in last month so i went back to ampalaya the last 2 days and lost 4 pounds again

lost 1.5 again yesterday only 1 bite ampalaya -from 171.5 to 166.6 this morn in 3 days,,seems to work for me.

starvation is never a good way to do anything.

sounds like alot of it may be water weight,
when starving yourself like that, the body canibalises muscle, not fat.

Im not starving hup im pigging out,,but im still eating a little ampalaya and losing. I ate chicken breast,,toast,,salad,,grapefruit,,bananas,,-2 chicken sandwiches for lunch. And i been drinking coffee with vanila and hazelnut creme 2-3 times a day still losing and good sugar level. I just reduced meds another 750 mg 3 days ago.

great job. I'm gonna have to find some of fresh ampalaya! The pill form works for me but is sporatic in its effects. So the fresh stuff is next to see if I can get more consistent results

yup,,i dont like the pills

that was the rpoblem which my dietician relayed to me. that was the problem with it. She said that it could also drop BS to really low levels.
research is being done, but the problem so far is the consitency in which it performs or doesn't, also the size of the effect it may have as well.

Not saying to give up on it, just relaying the info presented to me.
that said, the store here is out, and hasen't had any for a week or two....

Guys, I am type 2 (Jon- are you type one?).
The trick for me was wt loss and proper diet (low in sugar and no excessive carbs).
I have lost 65 lbs in 6 yrs since I last drove a truck and my blood sugars stay below 110 (spiked when I get up) as long as I dont drink alcohol.
(Im on the wagon too now- I ought to live forever LOL)

All that means is you're about to get hit by a bus Leftlane.

Ha funny T.
Shouldn't you be outside practicing up on your martial arts!!

yo ,,i lost 53 in 2 months on an ampalaya diet.

3 days back in asia my sugar levels dropped too low,,stopped the metformin and now its an ideal 106 with my wifes cooking here and the lifestyle. Im so healthy here always.

Iam 31 and type one. Diagnosed 1.5 yrs ago. Found that diet and exercise are best for me. Trapping and being active help. I am 185 and 6 foot,no histoery. Is there such thing as a wonder drug.?? I am always looking for advice. Vm inseattle has the best care peeriod imo. Tomatoes seem to do me good. Coffee raises my BS quixckly as does the complex carbs. Good read though.

What about the cinnamon capsules .I have heard that they help . Have a Friend that took them with Type 1 and it helped control here levels