Bitter Melon Kills Breast Cancer Cells

Bitter melon (AKA bitter gourd) extract, is a common supplement that is used to help boost the immune system and keep blood sugar levels normal.

A new study from Saint Louis University has found another reason to add bitter melon to your diet: it's excellent at prohibiting breast cancer cell growth and may even be a chemopreventative agent against this common cancer.

"Our findings suggest that bitter melon extract modulates several signal transduction pathways, which induces breast cancer cell death," said lead researcher Ratna B. Ray, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology at Saint Louis University. "This extract can be utilized as a dietary supplement for the prevention of breast cancer."

Ray's research found that the extract of bitter melon significantly decreased proliferation of breast cancer cell growth, even to the point of inducing death in these cancer cells. The encouraging results offer a potential cure for breast cancer. This latest study can be found in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women with 1 in 9 women developing breast cancer in their lifetime. If additional studies show similar results, an extract that can be used against breast cancer may be available in a few years. Researchers stress that much more research is needed before adding them to one's diet to inhibit growth of breast cancer cells.

Commonly used in dishes found in India, China and Central America, bitter melon has historically been used in these regions as a remedy for diabetes. My parents used to cook this all too often and the bitter taste still leaves a bad taste in my mouth years after I've last eaten it. Consider a bitter melon supplement from Himalaya Herbal Healthcare as a more palatable remedy.