An Ayurvedic Super Veggie – 7 Okra Health Benefits

• 7 Okra Health Benefits
• 1. It Toughens up Your Skeleton.
• 2. It Gets Things Moving.
• 3. Fights Off the Bad Guys.
• 4. It Makes Your Vision Crystal Clear.
• 5. It Makes you Look Good.
• 6. It Helps you Breathe Better.
• 7. It Tones Down the Sugar.

When it comes to super foods, okra is not among the most commonly thought of. But this green, versatile veggie is packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and more – making it a precious Ayurvedic ingredient. So, we’ve put together this list of the top okra health benefits.

Let’s begin with some facts:

• Okra has vitamins A, B, C, E and K, as well as zinc, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, folates and lots of mucilaginous fibre.
• Okra goes by many names, like ladies’ fingers, okro, gambo and bhindi.
• The Egyptians have been growing it since the 12th century BC. Cleopatra loved it!
• Ayurveda considers it to balance all the three doshas.
• Due to its various medicinal properties, parts of okra are used in Ayurvedic formulations to treat a range of health problems

7 Okra Health Benefits

1. It Toughens up Your Skeleton.

Okra benefits your bones by supplying them with essentials such as vitamin K, C, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. You can therefore include sufficient amounts of this vegetable in your diet in order to make your bones stronger. It’s good for your tissues, tendons, cartilage and teeth too. If you find that you are prone to developing osteoporosis, you can count okra as one of the important ingredients that prevent this disorder.

2. It Gets Things Moving.

There are tremendous okra plant benefits for your digestive system since its pods contain a substance called ‘mucilage’. It provides your large intestine with the required lubrication – thus facilitating better digestion. The great thing about okra is that it helps with both constipation as well as diarrhoea. It also improves bloating, flatulence and stomach-ache resulting from gastrointestinal imbalances.

3. Fights Off the Bad Guys.

Since it is loaded with lots of vitamin C, there are high okra health benefits for the immune system. So if your child often falls ill, be sure to include okra in their diet. It will help the body generate higher amounts of white blood cells in order to fight infection. Vitamin C is great for tackling inflammation – so it comes to use in case of conditions like arthritis and asthma. Further, okra also has lots of antioxidants, which enhances overall strength against sickness.

Read next: How to Boost a Child’s Immune System Naturally

4. It Makes Your Vision Crystal Clear.

Okra is very good for your eyes. This is because it is rich in vitamin A and antioxidants like lutein, xanthine and beta carotene. Vitamin A majorly contributes towards the development of strong and clear vision. And the antioxidants like we mentioned, make sure that the cells in your body stay healthy – including the ones that maintain good eye sight.  So if you’re bored of carrots, get started with okra and your eyes will stay sparkling clear and protected from degeneration.

5. It Makes you Look Good.

As we mentioned earlier, okra contains vitamin A, C, and antioxidants. All of these are wonderful for your skin. Eat this vegetable to maintain healthy skin cells, prevent acne, reduce scars and pigmentation and have younger looking skin. Okra’s slimy mucilage conditions your hair and moisturises the scalp. It prevents dandruff and lice too.

6. It Helps you Breathe Better.

Okra is widely used to treat cold, cough and lung infections. It also helps with asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. Okra works by cleaning congestion, fighting inflammation and providing your body with vitamin C and antioxidants to heal smoothly

7. It Tones Down the Sugar.

Several researchers have studied the benefits of okra for patients of diabetes type 2 – although they tested it on animals. They found that okra successfully reduced blood glucose levels.  Various people have claimed to reap the benefits of okra water after soaking it overnight and drinking it in the morning. However, experts warn that you must not consume okra along with metformin. Seek your doctor’s approval before using it to avoid interference with you medication.

Final Words

As you see, there are oh-so-many okra health benefits.  Just remember that okra contains oxalates, which aggravate kidney and gall stone problems. Do you use okra as any sort of remedy?? Let us know in the comments section!