When we think of karela or bitter gourd, the first thing that comes to mind is its bitterness. Of course, as its name implies, the bitter gourd really tastes bitter. However, even though they look and taste bitter, the health benefits of bitter gourd are all amazing and are surprised to our body.
Bitter Gourd: What is it?
Charantia, Mamordica, Karela, Kakarakaya, these are just some of the many names for the wonder vegetable, Bitter Gourd. This vegetable for some tastes awfully bitter. Furthermore, the appearance of the vegetable itself is quite unique.
Bitter Gourd comes in light or green colour and it has a wrinkled skin. Despite its appearance and bitter taste, bitter gourd is rich in essential antioxidants and many essential vitamins and minerals.
Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd
Here are some of the most common health benefits of bitter gourd that will surprise you:
Treats respiratory problems. Fresh pods of bitter gourd excellently help in curing some respiratory disorders like a cough, cold, and asthma.
Liver problem treatment. Bitter gourd is a very good food in treating liver tonics. You just need to drink a glass of bitter gourd juice and your kidney will benefit from it.
Get rid of acne. Eating bitter gourd helps in getting rid of acne, deep skin infections, and blemishes. Furthermore, the free radicals present in the vegetable is also beneficial for anti-ageing.
Reduce the risk of diabetes. Bitter gourd contributes to the reduction of the risk of type 2 diabetes. It has several chemicals which help in reducing blood sugar levels.
Easy Digestion. The wonder vegetable is also effective in treating constipation since it contains fiber properties.
Kidney and bladder health maintenance. It also helps in further maintenance of the bladder and kidney health. Moreover, it also contributes to treating kidney stones.
Good for heart health. Bitter gourd is good for the heart in so many ways. It helps in reducing bad cholesterol, which eventually reduce the risk of heart attacks. Furthermore, it also helps in maintaining the health of the heart.
Prevent cancer cells from multiplying. The nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and some other properties of bitter gourd helps in averting the possible development and multiplication of cancer cells.
Effective for weight loss. The antioxidants present in bitter gourd helps in flushing out the system. That helps improve digestive and metabolism hence, making the process of losing weight much easier.
Skin Benefits of Bitter Gourd
How your skin appears is hugely determined by all that you put inside your body. In easy words, you need to consume healthy foods in order to look good. That being said, bitter gourd can help you in improving your skin appearance. Here are some of the skin benefits of bitter gourd:
Averts skin ailments. Regular consumption of bitter gourd may help the skin to become glowing and free from any blemishes. Furthermore, it also helps in preventing acne breakout. This is because of the blood purifying properties of bitter gourd.
Prevents skin infections. Regular consumption of bitter gourd juice helps improve psoriasis, and any other conditions and infections.
Perfect anti-ageing remedy. Bitter gourd is rich in vitamin C –which is an amazing antioxidant. By slowing down the aging process of the skin, visible lines or wrinkles can be prevented.
Healing Properties. It can help in maintaining blood clotting and blood flow. This causes the wounds to heal much faster and prevents it from further infections.
Bitter Gourd Nutritional Value
All the health benefits of bitter gourd are all because of the nutritional value it has. It has numerous vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, B2, B1, C, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Zinc and Copper.
Calories: only a hundred gram per serving can help in providing consumers just 17 calories.
Vitamin C: bitter gourd is rich in vitamin C which can provide 84 mg of vitamin.
Folates: fresh bitter gourd pods are rich in folates which is essential in the continuous development of the body.
B-Vitamins: bitter gourd is also rich in B-vitamins like vitamin B3 or niacin, vitamin B5 or Pantothenic, and vitamin B6 or pyridoxine.
There is some more nutritional value of bitter gourd that you might find surprising. The health benefits of bitter gourd is not only limited to four, there are a lot more!
Some important Tips on Bitter Gourd
-In washing the vegetable, you need to wash it thoroughly with the use of running water.
-For the best result in health, use the freshest bitter gourd.
-Always choose bright or deep green colour of bitter gourd. It might be an indication that it is fresh and rich in nutrients.
-Delimit your bitter gourd intake in not more than 2.
-To reduce the bitterness of the bitter gourd, marinade it with salt.
-Pregnant women must be more careful in consuming bitter gourd. This is because, it might affect the baby inside the womb
Conclusion
The health benefits of bitter gourd are all surprising isn’t it? All of the nutritional values in it contributes to a much healthier you. So what are you waiting for, if you want to improve your health, consume bitter gourd.
