Health benefits of ampalaya

Health Benefits of Ampalaya (Bittergourd)

Bitter Melon, bitter gourd, ampalaya: This tropical plant which goes by many names, is commonly grown for its edible fruit, which is probably among the most bitter of all vegetables on earth.

Bitter gourd predominantly grows in tropical areas, including parts of Asia, East Africa, the Caribbean, and South America, where it is used both as food as well as a medicine. The plant's fruit truly lives up to its name, because it really tastes bitter. Although the seeds, leaves, and vines of this fruit have different uses, the fruit is considered as the safest and most predominantly used part of the plant in traditional herbal medicine.

Ampalaya Is Now Used In Herbal Medicine

Until recently, bitter gourd has been noted to be a potent herbal medicine for a lot of ailments, particularly in treating diabetes. The Philippine variety is known for its more potent anti-diabetic components.

This fruit is composed of a mixture of flavonoids and alkaloids which make the pancreas produce insulin that controls the blood sugar levels in diabetics. Aside from its touted medicinal value, it's also a very wonderful source of vitamins A, B and C, iron, folic acid, phosphorous and calcium. Ampalaya is a common herb used in Chinese herbology too.

The fruit's leaves are often used for children's coughs and are utilized in the treatment of skin diseases, sterility in women, as a parasiticide, an antipyretic, as well as a purgative. Like most bitter-tasting fruits and vegetables, bitter gourd stimulates digestion and can be very potent in people with dyspepsia and constipation.

Herbal Benefits of Ampalaya:

Ampalaya is noted to be an effective component in herbal medicine, and the fruit is known to help treat, or alleviate the symptoms of rheumatism and gout and ailments of the spleen and liver. It also is effective in helping lower the body's blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Below are among many of the beneficial aspects of using bitter gourd:

- Helps to disinfect and heal cuts, wounds & burns

- Is useful as a cough & fever remedy

- Used in the treatment of intestinal worms and diarrhea

- Helps prevent some types of cancers

- Helps enhance the body's immune system to ward off infections

- Serves as an effective antioxidant, antibacterial & antipyretic agent

How To Prepare A Herbal Ampalaya Mixture.

As the bitter fruit is famous for its many medicinal attributes, there are also other unique ways in preparing mixtures, drinks or solutions made from ampalaya. For cough, fever, worms, diarrhea, diabetes, drink a spoonful every day of grounded and juiced ampalaya leaves. For other health conditions, the fruit and leaves can both be juiced and taken orally. For wounds, burns and other skin diseases, you may apply the fruit's warmed leaves to the affected area.

Aside from the benefits mentioned above, bitter gourd is also an effective digestive agent that works by properly stimulating the secretion of gastric juices. It also aids in stimulating the liver for proper secretion of bile juices that are essential for the metabolism of body fat.

Taking juice made from bitter gourd also helps in the treatment of constipation, which is mainly caused by unhealthy eating habits and daily dietary practices. This fruit not only is good at relieving an indigestive condition, but also aids in treating constipation, by improving the movement of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as improving absorption in the intestines.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Health-Benefits-of-Ampalaya-%28Bittergourd%29&id=941524

Facts You’d Like To Know About Ampalaya

Ampalaya is one of the most widely-cultivated vegetables in the Philippines. Despite its harsh bitter flavor, Filipinos are very fond of eating this vegetable. In the Philippines, it is usually sauteed with pork and egg and is considered as a main ingredient in pinakbet, a special cuisine among Ilocanos. Its bitter taste is attributed to the presence of momordicin, a compound found to be effective in treating diabetes.

The results of different researches showed that ampalaya may also help in liver problems and even HIV. Because of its ability to treat and prevent various diseases and promote over-all health, this vegetable is highly recommended by different government and non-government organizations as one of the best herbal medicines available today.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF AMPALAYA
1. Lowers sugar levels in blood and urine, reducing the incidence of diabetes mellitus
2. Treats blood disorders like blood boils and itching due to toxins
3. Helps cure cholera
4. Improves energy and stamina level
5. Stabilizes sleeping patterns
6. Helps alleviate eye problems and improves eyesight
7. Treats hangovers
8. Helps cleanse, repair, and nourish liver problems due to alcohol consumption
9. Helps enhance the body’s immune system to protect against infections
10. Helps improve psoriasis condition and other fungal infections like athlete’s foot and ring worm
11. Improves respiratory disorders such as asthma, bronchitis, and pharyngitis
12. Serves as cough and fever remedy
13. Acts as a parasiticide
14. Treats intestinal worms and diarrhea
15. Acts as a purgative and stimulates digestion
16. Alleviates the symptoms of rheumatism and gout
17. Lowers blood pressure levels
18. Helps in disinfecting and healing of cuts, wounds, and burns
19. Helps prevent some types of cancers
20. Serves as an effective antioxidant, antibacterial, and antipyretic

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF AMPALAYA
Ampalaya is packed with lots of vitamins and minerals especially important in providing various health benefits mentioned above. It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B3, and C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorus, and manganese. This vegetable high in dietary fiber and very low in calories also contains twice the carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, and twice the potassium of a banana. There is also another insulin-like compound present that serves as insulin replacement in some diabetic patients.

Bitter gourd (boiled, drained, no salt)Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 20 kcal 80 kJ

Carbohydrates 4.32 g
- Sugars 1.95 g
- Dietary fiber 2.0 g

Fat 0.18 g
- saturated 0.014 g
- monounsaturated 0.033 g
- polyunsaturated 0.078 g

Protein 0.84 g
Water 93.95 g

Vitamin A equiv. 6 µg 1%
Thiamin (Vit. B 1) 0.051 mg 4%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.053 mg 4%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.280 mg 2%
Vitamin B6 0.041 mg 3%
Folate (Vit. B9) 51 µg 13%
Vitamin B 12 0 µg 0%
Vitamin C 3.0 mg 55%
Vitamin E 0.14 mg 1%
Vitamin K 4.8 µg 5%
Calcium 9 mg 1%
Iron 0.38 mg 3%
Magnesium 16 mg 4%
Phosphorus 36 mg 5%
Potassium 319 mg 7%
Sodium 6 mg 0%
Zinc 0.77 mg 8%
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

http://www.agribusinessweek.com/facts-youd-like-to-know-about-ampalaya/