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| 苦瓜素可用於糖尿病和減肥 Bitter Melon for Diabetes and Weight Loss | |||||||||||
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 或許你喜歡食西瓜和蜜瓜，因其香甜多汁口味一流。 然而另一種瓜類卻正進行多重研究，醫學界對其療效感到震驚。 所說的就是苦瓜也！ 其實在世界各地，苦瓜用於烹飪和藥用目的已有數世紀歷史。最早時土著食用苦瓜，但不吃其種子。這種植物的果實也常用於作為藥材，某些情況下，其葉子也有藥用價值。 傳統認為，苦瓜對很多疾病都有幫助，其中包括腸道疾病、寄生蟲、病毒性疾病（如艾滋病毒等）。 也因為它有降血糖的作用，這種草本植物已越來越多受到重視，現在很多科研的重點是將其應用於代謝性疾病（例如非胰島素依賴性的II型糖尿病）上。雖然其他範疇的研究仍然有限，也有證據顯示其有降膽固醇、減肥、抗癌等作用，也有調節免疫系統和減少炎症等功效。 II型糖尿病 糖尿病患者失去了平衡血糖的能力。長遠來說這將導致很多并發症（包括對腎臟、眼睛、血管和神經系統造成無法挽回的壞損）。對於早期確診的病人，透過飲食習慣的改變和適量運動能有效控制血糖。 然而，許多人也需要藥物治療。 動物實驗表明苦瓜有降低血糖的能力，很多人體試驗的結果也非常正面。雖然其有效成分尚未確定，但苦瓜似乎能增加身體葡萄糖儲存量、降低葡萄糖產生以及提高胰島素分泌和降低抗胰島素問題。 根據推斷，苦瓜素的作用與很多著名降糖藥物的基理不謀而合。 一些初步人體試驗都表明了苦瓜素的功效。 在其中一個試驗中，患者每日2次服200毫克苦瓜素，並結合西藥降糖藥一起服用。 結果發現，即使將常規藥物的劑量減少一半，他們的血糖值也顯著下降。試驗作者得出的結論是，苦瓜素與降糖藥物能產生協同作用。 另一項小型研究中，涉及的病人每日飯後喝200毫升苦瓜汁，為期12個星期。三個月後，結果表明患者無論是空腹血糖值和糖化血紅蛋白值（另一血糖控制成效的指標）都明顯下降。 動物實驗證實了苦瓜有降血糖作用，以及能舒緩其他與糖尿病相關症狀，例如高膽固醇和甘油三酯。一項研究表明，苦瓜若能配合有氧運動（一項已知有助控制糖尿病的方法），其效果將大為提高。其他動物的研究表明，苦瓜也有助減少慢性糖尿病引起的并發症，包括神經受損和白內障等。 肥胖是II型糖尿病人的一種常見風險因素，而苦瓜也有助減肥。 在動物實驗中，苦瓜已被證明能減慢體重增加，降低身體脂肪比例。 此外，初步證據表明，苦瓜可能增加身體分解脂肪的能力，甚至進食高脂食物時同樣有幫助。苦瓜含豐富共軛亞油酸，無論在動物還是人體試驗中都顯示能消除多余脂肪組織和細胞，減少總脂肪量。 You’ve enjoyed watermelon and honeydew melon for their sweet, succulent tastes. Now a different kind of melon is being studied for its medicinal effects. For centuries bitter melon (Momordica charantia) has been used in both culinary and medicinal circles throughout the world. The fruit—but not its seeds—is eaten as food by indigenous people. The fruit of this plant is also used medicinally, though in some instances the leaf appears useful as well. Traditionally, bitter melon has been taken for conditions including gastro-intestinal disease, parasites, and viral illnesses, such as HIV. Because of its ability to lower blood sugar, this herb has been increasingly at the center of scientific research focusing on metabolic disorders like noninsulin dependent, or Type 2, diabetes. Although research on humans is still limited, evidence also supports its roles in lowering cholesterol, in weight loss, cancer protection, immune support, and for decreasing inflammation. For Type 2 Diabetes In diabetes, the body loses its ability to keep blood sugar under control. This can lead to long-term complications including irreversible damage to the kidneys, eyes, blood vessels, and nerves. For those patients diagnosed early, changes in diet and exercise may be all that’s needed to control blood sugar. However, many others require pharmaceutical intervention. Animal studies demonstrate bitter melon’s ability to lower blood sugar, and several human trials show promise. Although the active constituents have yet to be identified, the fruit appears to increase the body’s storage of glucose, lower glucose production, raise insulin production, and decrease insulin resistance. In this way, bitter melon’s actions are similar to those of many well-known conventional antidiabetes medications. A few human trials offer preliminary support, however. In one, patients took 200 mg of bitter melon two times a day in combination with their conventional antidiabetes medication. They experienced a significant drop in blood sugar, even with half the dose of the conventional medication. This result led the authors to conclude that bitter melon acts synergistically with antidiabetes drugs. Another small study involved patients who drank 200 ml of dried bitter melon fruit tea after meals for 12 weeks. After three months, results indicated reductions in both fasting blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin, another marker of blood sugar control. Animal studies confirm the hypoglycemic effect of bitter melon, as well as other disease markers associated with diabetes, like elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. One study suggests that the benefits of bitter melon may be greater when combined with aerobic exercise, a factor known to be helpful in the control of diabetes. Other animal research indicates that bitter melon may also decrease the long-term consequences of chronic diabetes, including nerve damage and cataracts. Obesity is a common risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, and bitter melon may be helpful in weight loss. In animals, this herb has been shown to decrease weight gain and lower the ratio of body fat to lean tissue. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that bitter melon may increase the body’s ability to break down fat, even with high-fat diets. And this herb is rich in conjugated linoleic acids, which have been linked to the destruction of fatty tissue and cells in animals as well as lower total body fat mass in humans.
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