Dr. Gourd: What Bitter Melon Can Do For You

Everything you need to know about the oldest and strongest medicinal food on earth. Includes: What it is, what it's done, where to buy it, how to grow it, recipes, and why now is the time to take advantage of its health benefits. Can you answer the following? 1. What medicinal food did Mother Teresa give to leprosy patients in Calcutta? 2. What plant's scientific name means "lowers blood sugar?" 3. According to Ayurveda, the oldest medical system on earth, what was the "original" medicine? 4. Which vegetable is processed into ampules, and injected into Chinese patients with diabetes and cancer? 5. What plant did the American Journal of Pharmacology say contains "p-insulin?" 6. Which plant had its protein synthesized into an antiviral pharmaceutical drug? 7. What plant is preferred over quinine, in Columbia the Philippines, for treatment of malaria? Answers: There is only one answer to each question above: bitter melon. Because of its medicinal qualities, and the fact that it is a member of the gourd family, bitter melon is called Dr. Gourd. Bitter melon is not just potent medicine; it is a staple of diet for over a billion people worldwide. In the United States, however, bitter melon is relatively new. This is because it has been stereotyped as "ethnic," and rejected by mainstream produce markets. But the stereotypical rejection is easing, because now Americans want the healthiest foods -- damn their ethnicity! The answer to all the above Quiz: