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Oct 11, 2021 14 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Bitter Gourd (Karela) or Bitter Melon

For Diabetes

Every Ayurveda / Naturopathy video promotes it

Should you take it?
Is it safe?

A 🧵+
Scientific name: Momordica charantia

Used as hypoglycemic agent for lowering blood sugar in diabetes patients in traditional medicine

Evidence for bitter gourd reducing glucose levels is PREDOMINANTLY from cell and animal based studies

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… +
Validated, replicated & properly powered high quality clinical trials are lacking

meaning,

actual evidence for Karela juice/extracts is not present in medical literature

most of the videos/recommendations r based on flimsy foundational level evidence and appeal to tradition +
Trials of Karela juice or extracts conducted on humans are only a handful and most are underpowered to actually identify efficacy and safety of such formulations
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Good data in animal models show bitter gourd extracts cause series of adverse events +
- α-momorcharin (a plant chemical in karela) related inflammatory reaction
- juice formulation leading to to acute poisoning symptoms such as acute convulsions, nervous disorders, jumping, and shortness of breath
- causes abortion and teratogenic side effects, damaging fetus +
- toxicity to fetus + cardiotoxicity of karela extracts in zebrafish embryos
- decrease in estrogen, progesterone hormone levels leading to dose-dependent antifertility effect
- and sperm damaging and reduction of sperm count resulting from antispermatogenic effect in male rats +
Further, studies in animals have also shown that concentrated form of bitter gourd can lead to liver damage

longdom.org/proceedings/th… +
A review of safety reported adverse effects including hypoglycemic coma and convulsions in children, reduced fertility in mice, a favism-like syndrome, increases in gamma-glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase levels in animals, and headaches

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12625217/ +
Long term administration of karela extracts in animals led to kidney damage

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24644542/ +
A 2012 Cochrane Review found that "There was insufficient evidence on the effects of momordica charantia (bitter gourd) for type 2 diabetes mellitus."

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22895968/ +
A human trial of Bitter Gourd extract against the standard modern medicine for diabetes - Metformin,

showed that Bitter Gourd use was INFERIOR to Metformin.

(so much for ancient experience 🤓)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21211558/ +
Bitter gourd extracts or juice ARE NOT approved or recommended as a treatment or for prevention of diabetes

by any national or international Endocrinology or Diabetes societies

due to low level, very weak foundational evidence that it can manage blood sugar +
There’s no medically approved form or formulation of bitter gourd that can be consumed SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY as a treatment for diabetes currently

The available studies are flawed by small sample size, lack of control and poor study design +
Bitter melon may be eaten as part of a healthy diet,
however,

consuming bitter melon beyond your dietary needs may lead to ill-health

You want to be a guinea pig?
Be my guest.

Maybe they'll name a new toxicity syndrome after you.
Congratulations.

End.

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More from @theliverdr

Apr 20
Breaking: Our exhaustive paper on liver toxicity of various herbs/ plants used in Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (Ayush) systems of alternative medicine is out now (free to read)
with @arifhussaintm

This paper was initially an invited paper by an Indian journal. The reviewers and Editorial board rejected the "invited" paper because they thought the paper was "too critical" of traditional, cultural and religious [unscientific] aspects of healthcare practice among Indian community and feared backlash from the alternative systems regulatory body (Ayush Ministry) and Ayurveda and Homeopathy practitioners & their organizations of they accepted their own "invited" paper.

The Indian medical science community is now hostage to it's unscientific past due to a deepening lack of scientific temperament among doctors, worrying knee-jerk response style assault from the alternative medicine industry/practitioners/regulators and general apathy towards patients & public health. It's disappointing.

Since they were spineless to publish our factual paper, we sent this to a neutral journal for peer review (which is got through) and paid open access publication fee, so that everyone could read it for free.

Please read and share this important paper which educates physicians on herbal liver toxicity from seemingly benign plant sources which they need to be aware of.

The subsequent posts also highlights infographics summary of various toxic Ayush-based botanicals that are increasingly reported to harm public and patients.

Thanks in advance, and I hope doctors in India start fearlessly respecting science rather than intentionally embracing ignorance & selfishly covering up themselves in a safety bubble, thereby endangering public health in the process.journals.lww.com/md-journal/ful…Image
Continued: Summary on Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy) Image
Continued: Summary on Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) Image
Read 7 tweets
Apr 13
The classical response from Ayurveda practitioners or Ayurveda sympathizers (and other alternative medicine practitioners) when debating the role of alternative medicine in healthcare is to "go and study Ayurveda or read Ayurveda" to understand it better. This is a logical fallacy, a kind of escapism. Dr. Kanojia here, has not read the Ayurvedic texts, which is why, he keeps fielding for Ayurveda.

India has a 5 year teaching course for students for Bachelors in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery called BAMS.

I have the complete syllabus collection of all curriculum approved text books of Ayurveda in my home library. I spent almost two years reading every single book taught in BAMS syllabus.

Classical Ayurvedic teaching material is rich in misogyny, nauseatingly magical thinking, extreme levels of animal cruelty and meat eating, primitive observations, primal herbal and interventional therapies and principles of practice based on obsolete humoral and elemental theories of disease formation and diagnosis.

For example:

For treatment of large tumors, honey was applied over the growth, flies are allowed to lay eggs on the tumor and the maggots are allowed to eat the tumor from within. The residual tumor is then burned off.

For women in obstructive labor, the hips, buttocks are beaten, the lady is made to inhale smoke from burned snake skin and feathers are used for tickling.

For the treatment of tuberculosis (there was no germ theory at the time, but descriptions of emaciation in tuberculosis was observed) the patient is fed herbs and made to drink alcohol (alcohol is in fact one of the risk factors for tuberculosis as we know now) and cure is achieved by massages from "beautiful ladies."

For treatment of seizures in children, demons were considered the cause (they still teach this in the BAMS curriculum) and such demonic possessions were slayed using prayers and chants.

For treatment of diabetes (there was no knowledge of actual diabetes, it was called Premeha and there were different types of Premeha based on diet/ activity, semen quality and based on "doshas". Ayurvedic texts describe some of the causes of "diabetes" to eating meat and drinking milk. There are nearly 20 types of diabetes described in Ayurveda - which of course, is nonsense.

For treatment of sexual disorders, testicles of various types of animals were boiled with herbs and the formulation applied or drank to increase sexual prowess and to "have sex with a 1000 women."

The bottom line is, if you actually read/study the Ayurvedic texts, you'll realize how completely absurd & pseudoscientific the whole system is and you'll never vouch for it again. I am sharing some excerpts from BAMS textbooks in the subsequent post.

Do not send your children to study BAMS and of course, do not read these texts. I did, so that you dont have to. It will take you to a dark place.
Proof 1:


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Proof 2:


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Read 4 tweets
Sep 20, 2023
1 of 45

"There is a place, but it is a long journey
If there is any hope for your jaundiced father, this place holds it"

"Where is it?" - the young man enquires

"A place called Kochi"

A son
A dying father
A terrifying battle
A terrible liver disease

From Telangana to Kerala Image
2 of 45

Few months ago, Deepak, a middle aged man started losing appetite

As days progressed, he felt lethargic and every small work became a chore

Hailing from a small town and with a small family in Telangana, he was taken to a local doctor...
3 of 45

Deepak's wife, a homemaker, looked after their family with love and motherly care

Deepak was the sole bread winner, with 2 children

His daughter started medical school on hefty fees, and the son was about to join an engineering college...
Read 45 tweets
Jun 29, 2023
Number of people dead from small pox from 1900 to 1980 - THREE HUNDRED MILLION.

Number of people dead due to small pox after 1980
- ZERO. https://t.co/AyC2qFAvkp
Diphtheria

Number of deaths in 1920's before introduction of vaccine, reported annually in the United States - 13,000 to 15,000.

Number of deaths reported from 1996 to 2018 in the United States - ONE.
https://t.co/ISKQJuqHeA
Polio
Outbreak in 1916 - 2000 dead
Outbreak in 1952 - 3000 dead
Survivors - disabled for life.

Number of cases after 1994 in Western Hemisphere
- ZERO.
https://t.co/EBLgktBQPO


Read 5 tweets
Jun 6, 2023
1/
Ok some friends sent me private messages that I was harsh on Rachit. They feel that I have to correct Rachit's presumed "Busting" of my tweet content by "Busting" his tweet content on mine. So here goes. Stay for the real science friends. Image
2/
Rachit says creatine is FOR ALL but gives no evidence to back his claims and goes on to copy paste biochemistry of creatine from a Google search.

International Society of Sports Nutrition position specifies creatine use in sports & athletics only...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… Image
3/
...and not in others. There is some inconclusive data in patients with muscular dystrophy and aging population, but they are not solid recommendations. In fact all recommendations are in training professionals only and not otherwise.
jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…
Read 14 tweets
Jun 6, 2023
This is some real epic sh*t from Ankur Warikoo. So epic, that its worthy of immediate flushing.

➡️Whey protein for special populations - atheletes, sportspersons, bodybuilders, chronic liver and kidney disease ✅️

➡️Omega 3 supplements is only useful in people with high… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImage
Collateral damage. Local creatine dealer feeling the heat. Image
A Gym-bro tries to debunk the factual details I have provided (he claims "everything busted") in the tweet but instead, lands head-on, in his own epic sh*t.

I cant even understand where these science-illiterates get the brains & guts (I know they have the balls, because their… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Read 4 tweets

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