Bitter gourd

What it does

Contains charantin and polypeptide-p; small trials show modest glucose effects.

• Traditional blood sugar remedy

Where the number comes from

Bitter gourd sits in the veg group of the Fadnes model, the only peer-reviewed model that converts eating into years of life. The lifetime gain for that group is spread across the days you actually eat it — a daily serving from age 20 to 80 — which gives +8 min per serving. The authors rate the evidence behind this group as low.

What it is made of

• Charantin
• Polypeptide-p
• Vitamin C

How to eat it

The bitterness is the compound — don't mask it all.

Minutes derived from Fadnes LT, Økland J-M, Haaland ØA, Johansson KA. Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study. PLOS Medicine 19(2):e1003889, 2022. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889