Organic Japanese Bitter Gourd 348g Thailand

Origin: Thailand
Status: Organic
Certification: TAS
Highlights: One of the many varieties of bitter gourd available in Asia, our organic Japanese bitter gourds are proudly grown in Thailand. Bitter gourds are thought to have originated in Africa where it was a dry season food for the !Kung hunter-gatherers, spread from there to India and through China to Japan.

Unlike the paler broad ribbed Chinese bitter gourd, the Japanese variety, commonly part of Okinawan diet is more like the Indian bitter gourd. Used as a side in Indian cuisine or thinly sliced and deep fried in mustard oil, in Japanese and Chinese cuisine it is often stir-fried with pork or eggs and fermented black beans.

Three active substances have been identified, charanti which lowers blood glucose, vicine which is insulin like in its action and polypeptide-p. Bitter gourd also contains a lectin which acts on peripheral tissues and suppresses appetite and may be the major factor behind its hypoglycemic effect. Interesting to note that this is one of the foods commonly found in the Okinawan diet, known for its support of longevity.