Bitter melon stops breast cancer cells from spreading and growing
February 26th, 2010Bitter melon is already well known for its powerful effect on blood sugar and cholesterol levels. The latest findings suggest it may have a role in blocking the spread of breast cancer.
A new study by Saint Louis University scientists demonstrates that the vegetable triggers a chain of events on a cellular level that stops breast cancer cells from multiplying and also kills them.
The research, published in the March 1 edition of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, involved human breast cancer cells exposed to bitter melon extract in the lab.
The bitter melon extract turned off signals telling the breast cancer cells to divide and switched on signals encouraging them to commit suicide.
For many, the bitter element of bitter melon (also called bitter gourd) is unpalatable. But I have found that once you start teasing your tastebuds with bitter foods, you enjoy — even crave — foods such as bitter melon. I had written a column on this subject a couple of years ago for Mind Your Body. Here is a copy if anyone is interested:
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Bite into the goodness of bitter food Eat something bitter and the reaction you get is pure survival instinct. Wed, May 16, 2007 Give a child something bitter to eat and the reaction you get is pure survival instinct. Since rancid food and many poisonous plants do taste bitter, we are built to spit out bitter foods early in life, when growth and development are at their peak. As adults, our instinct is still to be a little suspicious of the taste, but its hint of danger also makes bitterness more enticing. The shift tends to be subtle: Over time, our taste buds generally become less sensitive, which makes us seek out more complex and intense flavours. Moreover, as we become familiar with bitterness in food, we start trusting and enjoying it more. And before we know it, the glass of sweet milk that comforted in youth is replaced by the kick of intense, dark coffee. In other words, bitterness is an acquired taste. Over 100 different taste receptors determine a person’s appetite for the bite of bitterness. Genetics, cultural habits and familiarity all play a role in this process. As scientists learn more, acquiring a taste for bitter foods has become more challenging. The amount of bitterness in our food supply has been slashed over the last generation. In response to our universal love affair with sugar, food producers have found ways of ‘debittering’ (while at the same time sweetening) foods - so a grapefruit today has far less of the bitter compound naringin than it did a generation ago. That is not all. Several companies are developing special food additives that blind the tongue to the unpopular taste by dulling the receptors that detect bitterness. The idea is that by adding these substances, people will be able to take in more bitterness without the inconvenience of tasting it. While such a product may have a role in children’s medicines, the widespread dulling of taste buds cannot sit well with anyone who enjoys food. Part of the enjoyment of experimenting with new foods is actually reacting to a bold taste - and either growing to love it or continuing to wonder how other people do. Others seem to agree. From curls of bitter radicchio to bottles of bitter beers, there are signs that bitterness may be gaining renewed interest. Ultra-dark, bitter chocolate is the fastest-growing segment of the chocolate market, and trendy restaurants in New York run bitter tasting menus with ingredients like raw zucchini, dandelion root and bittergourd (below) to lend excitement to their dishes. At the heart of this trend is health. From the oleuropin found in olive oil to curcumin in turmeric, most health-boosting substances found in nature are bitter to the tongue. Only recently has science identified these compounds. But traditional healers have recognised a longstanding partnership between bitterness and medicine. Take bitters, for example. A traditional European tonic, bitters is a brew of a wide range of chemical compounds that are - no surprise here - bitter. The concoction of around a dozen different herbs improves the digestive and nervous systems. But, it is not just what is in it that counts. In order to be effective, bitters must be tasted on the tongue where it stimulates the reflexes within the digestive tract. What follows is increased flow of digestive juices that results in better digestion and liver detoxification. Digestion is closely linked to immunity and the nervous systems - and so the simple act of taking bitters is thought to have a profound effect on the body. Closer to home, Chinese and Indian medicine systems essentially believe the same. Bittergourd is just one example of a medicinal food used in Asia to help a staggering range of conditions from diabetes to psoriasis. For adults who still are averse to bitter foods, it may be time to get beyond what is safe and familiar: Start with bitter chocolate and bitterness will never seem bad again. |
