Looking for home remedies? Okra (Lady’s Finger) is a vegetable that helps in treating constipation and lower blood sugar.
Okra, (lady’s finger, ladies’ fingers, bhindi, bamia, or gumbo), is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The plant is cultivated around the world as vegetable.
Okra is high in fiber, vitamin C, and folate content. It is also known for its high in antioxidants. Okra is also a good source of calcium and potassium. So okra is well known as a health food. Okra oil obtained from okra seeds is high in unsaturated fats such as oleic acid and linoleic acid. The oil content of some varieties of the seed can be as high as 40%.
Okra is often used in home remedies for treating intestinal and irritable bowl dysfunction. Okra has laxative qualities due to its slippery characteristic. This helps Sooth the gastrointestinal tract, lubricate the large intestines, thus prevent and improve constipation. Okra provides a natural lining to the intestinal mucosa, prevents ulcerations and bacterial imbalances. Its fibrous, mucilaginous nutrients are benefitial in lowering inflammation, increasing active transportation of nutritional conversion. A patient suffering from constipation for the past 20 years, cured the disorder after eating 6 pieces of Okra for 2 months.
Okra helps control blood sugar by curbing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract. Lady’s Finger also helps regulate cholesterol and acid reflux.
How to Eat Okra?
Here is a recipe of how to eat it:
1. Steamed, eat it as salad.
2. Stir fried with spices, pickled, salted or sugar.
3. Boiled with vegetables, or tofu.
4. Cooked with ground beef, ground pork, fish or chicken.
To retain most nutrients and health benefits, okra should be cooked as little as possible. For example, cook it with low heat, lightly steam it, or run it through boiling water. If eating it raw, make sure it is very fresh and clean.
