What do you feel when you hear the name Bitter Gourd (Karawila)? Yes! Bitterness. Even though Bitter gourd is bitter in taste it has many medicinal properties and health benefits. Its fruit is consumed as a vegetable and all the parts of the plant like leaves, stems, flowers, roots, seeds, and the fruit are used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases like cancer, diabetes, skin diseases, liver diseases and also it improves lactation and is good for pregnant women. 

The scientific name of Bitter Gourd / Karawila is Momordica charantia and it belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. According to Ayurveda, there are three types of Bitter Gourds as “Hela Karawila” which are whitish-green in color, “Batu karawila” which are small in size and “Thumba karawila” which are dark green in color. All these types are good for health and contain the same medicinal properties but “Batu karawila” is the most used among others in traditional medicine in Sri Lanka.  Bitter gourd is rich in nutrients as well.  Those are iron, magnesium potassium and vitamin C.  It is an excellent source of dietary fiber, it also contains twice the calcium of spinach, beta-carotene of broccoli, and the potassium of a banana.  It is not advisable to eat sambol, curries or medicines that are associated with Bitter Gourd at night. This is due to its ability to remove toxins from the body. if a snake bite happens at night, it is useless to give a drug because Bitter Gourd can reduce the effectiveness of the drug too.  

Here are the amazing benefits of consuming bitter gourd in your daily diet. 

1. Helps to maintain the blood glucose level Charantin is a chemical compound that is contained in Bitter Gourd, which helps to control blood glucose levels.  If you can drink two tablespoons of the juice of Bitter Gourd (juice of the leaves or the fruit) to the empty stomach every morning, you can control if you got diabetes already or you can prevent getting diabetes in future if you’re not a diabetic person, according to Ayurveda. 

2. Bitter Gourd is full of antioxidants, therefore it helps our body to fight against free radicals. So, it helps to prevent us from getting cancer, especially leukemia and Colon cancers. All you have to do is just add Bitter Gourd into your daily diet. 

3. In Ayurveda, it is said that bitter foods are good for the health of the liver. The juice of the leaves of this plant helps to get rid of liver diseases. 

4. Bitter Gourd is also useful for treating skin diseases. The grounded leaves of Bitter Gourd can be applied on the rash to make it heal in several days. Drinking the juice of the Bitter Gourd fruit and leaves is also good for the skin. In traditional medicine, Bitter Gourd is considered as the golden food because it is said when you eat Bitter Gourd every day you will get glowing skin ( as your skin will be golden color). 

5. Control LDL/ bad cholesterol. Several animal studies found that bitter melon may decrease blood cholesterol levels to support overall heart health.

6. In western medicine, it may not be recommended for pregnant women to eat Bitter Gourd, but in traditional medicine, it is recommended for pregnant women to eat Bitter gourd because it decreases the risk of getting neurological issues of the fetus. Bitter gourd is recommended to breastfeeding mothers too because it improves the lactation.