Bitter melon (karela)
the vegetable, its juice and extracts. Vegetables & fruit.
Also called or includes: Karela, Bitter gourd, Bitter melon juice cancer cure
- Verdict
- UnclearThere isn't enough human evidence to say either way.
- How sure
- Rung 1 · UnprovenLab or animal data only, or never directly tested in people.
The rung shows how sure the science is, not how big the effect is. How to read these ratings
Cancers affected
None shown in people
What the evidence shows
Extracts killed some cancer cells in lab studies, but Memorial Sloan Kettering says human cancer studies are lacking. One study in women with cervical cancer found no effect on their immune cells.
What to do
Fine as a vegetable, but not as a cancer treatment. Avoid it in pregnancy, and watch for low blood sugar if you take diabetes medicines. Case reports link it to heart rhythm problems and kidney injury.
Sources
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Related
Every food we rated, or follow one cancer step by step: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer.