Charantia now a European brand

Charantia's success in the Philippines led to its introduction in Europe. The same Ampalaya product is now being sold as Charantea Ampalaya Tea in about 5,000 health food stores and 20,000 pharmacies in German-speaking countries in the continent.

Today, many Europeans are discovering the merits of the Philippine herb, Ampalaya, through regular use of Charantea. In general, diabetics in Europe who regularly take the Ampalaya product as an herbal tea attest to a better health today, much like what Philippine diabetics who tried Charantia have experienced in the past years.

Thousands of diabetics in the Philippines have openly shared their positive experience of using Charantia Ampalaya Food Supplement. With continuous use of Charantia, the diabetics in the Philippines attest to feeling more active or gaining a general sense of well-being. Many belong to one of the hundreds of diabetic clubs organized by public doctors. Spread across the country, the clubs help the community's diabetics cope with the disease through emotional and social support.

"I can drive on long trips again," one diabetic club president admits after including Charantia in his diet. Another club officer says the Ampalaya product makes her stop feeling sleepy. Many more recount how they achieved better blood sugar control with Charantia.

Not only are their testimonials a personal account; they are confirmed by doctors who regularly conduct fasting blood sugar tests to these patients. The doctors have actually measured the degree of improvement each diabetic gained after regularly using the Ampalaya product. Today, these diabetics are happy they can play with their grand children, do the shopping or simply be active in running the household again.

Tradition and science
Ampalaya has a long history in the Philippines and in many parts of Asia as a nutritious vegetable and traditional home remedy for many illnesses, particularly diabetes. The old Asian discovery that it can lower the blood sugar level is cited in numerous researches conducted worldwide over the past four decades.

Several compounds, notably saponins and proteins, have been isolated from Ampalaya including a polypeptide (P-insulin), a steroid mixture (charantin) and a pyrimidine nucleoside (vicine). Researchers believe the interplay of these compounds is responsible for the herb's anti-diabetes benefits.

Three years ago, Ampalaya gained even more value when the Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines (AMHOP)-the national organization of over 1,500 doctors running the country's network of health centers-officially recommended Charantia to fortify the diet of their diabetic patients.

Charantia is the first Ampalaya supplement to be subjected to a clinical trial, showing it as a useful dietary adjunct in the treatment of type-2 diabetics (Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine, July-August 2001). Buoyed by this conclusion, plus the previous positive studies on the herb, AMHOP doctors decided to add Charantia to their diabetic patients' diet. The consistent good results the doctors got from the patients substantiated the pre-clinical and clinical scientific findings on Ampalaya.

Many diabetics in Europe may feel excited or surprised at the benefits they get from Ampalaya. They would be happy to know that their testimonials are simply corroborating what folkloric healers, researchers and clinicians have long known and experienced-Ampalaya works for diabetics.

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