Health Benefits of Ampalaya (Bittergourd)

Health benefits of Bitter gourd :-

• Bitter melon is very low in calories, carrying just 17 calories per 100 g. Nevertheless, its pods are rich sources of phytonutrients like dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.
• Bitter melon notably contains phyto-nutrient, polypeptide-P, a plant insulin known to lower blood sugar levels. In addition, it composes hypoglycemic agent called charantin. Charantin increases glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis inside the cells of liver, muscle and adipose tissue. Together, these compounds may have been thought to be responsible for blood sugar levels reduction in the treatment of type-2 diabetes.
• Fresh pods are an excellent source of folates, carrying about 72 µg/100g (18% of RDA). Vitamin folate when taken by mothers during their early pregnancy time, would help reduce the incidence of neural tube defects in the newborn babies.
• Fresh bitter melon is an excellent source of vitamin-C (100 g of raw pod provides 84 mg or about 140% of RDI). Vitamin-C is one of the powerful natural antioxidants which helps scavenge deleterious free radicals from the human body.
• Further, it is an excellent source of health benefiting flavonoids such as ß-carotene, a-carotene, lutein, and zea-xanthin. It also contains a good amount of vitamin-A. Together, these compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging, cancers and various disease processes.
• Bitter melon stimulates easy digestion and peristalsis of food through the bowel until it is excreted from the body. Thus, it helps in relieving indigestion and constipation problems.
• In addition, it is a moderate source of B-complex vitamins such as niacin (vitamin B-3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, manganese and magnesium.
• Early laboratory tests suggest that certain phyto-chemical compounds in bitter melon might be effective in the treatment of HIV infection.

Anti-diabetic :-

It is widely known that Bitter Gourd can lower down Blood Sugar Level, which is the very reason why it is highly discouraged to be eaten by people who are under diabetes medication. It can cause blood sugar to drop too low when a person is also taking meds that lower down blood sugar level and it may cause severe effects on the person. This blood sugar lowering effect can be attributed to Charantin, Vicine and Polypeptide-p

Anti-cancer :-

Every anti-cancer food out there is on the rage. So, try listing down this veggie under your anti-cancer food and gear up to fight cancer. As they say, prevention is always better than cure.

Antioxidant :-

Given of course that it has anti-cancer properties, automatically is has antioxidative properties. This can be due to its high Vitamin C content. It has been debunked that Vitamin C can actually prevent colds, but it has been proven that Vitamin C can actually do so much better as an antioxidant. It acts by attaching itself to the free radicals [which causes aging of cells] to prevent the adverse effects of these substances in the body.

Immunobooster :-

Bacteria, Virus and all those disease causing agents are everywhere. Without the proper health regimen like a good old diet, ample hours of sleep and exercise, then you might be able to contract diseases that could affect your day to day activities. We all need immunoboosters, and who needs pills and potions if we could eat natural food that would give a healthier effect. Bitter Gourd is one of the super foods that one can resort to.

Appetite suppressor :-

No, it’s not because it’s bitter that you eventually lose your appetite to eat, but it is because of lectin, a substance present in this veggie that helps you achieve a non hungry effect.

Good for the heart :-

Heart diseases are among the largest killers worldwide. People who are in born with the risk of developing diseases and people who are high risked in developing one may ought to plan a counter attack for this disease to stop it or at least slow down its development. Have you ever heard of LDL Cholesterol? It’s more commonly known as the bad cholesterol and Ampalaya extracts has the ability to bind to these cholesterol to remove them from your system. Not only that, because Ampalaya also has the ability to lower down blood sugar, it helps blood circulation by keeping a good number of solute [which includes sugar] passing through your veins.

Skin improvement :-

As mentioned in the earlier parts of this list, Ampalaya contains a hefty amount of Vitamin C, a good antioxidant that prevents early onset of aging. It also contributes to skin beautification because of its ability to control the sugar content in your blood which in effect prevents blemishes, and improve blood clotting and healing for damaged skin.

Good Bye Bad Hair day :-

Now, this wonder veggie doesn’t just act to help your internal organs, but it also helps beautify your physical appearance. The hair is out crowning glory, but sometimes due to the heavy pollution, and stress, our hair tends to dry up and get damaged [like dandruff, split ends, and tangled]. A lot of aging people have gray hair and hair fall issues too. Fret no more, Ampalaya is to the rescue and here is the good news, if you’re no bitter fan, you can resort to not eating it, because you can resort to juicing and voila, you’re on the way to say goodbye to your bad hair day.

Effective in weight loss :-

Did you know that weight has a lot to do with the diseases that you can contract over time? If you are a health conscious person, you should always keep an eye on your weight. Vegetables such as Ampalaya are great for weight loss because of the low calories, and the rich fiber that they have, plus the high water content that helps you achieve that “feeling full” state.