Okra – one of the best medicinal vegetables that due to its taste hasn’t gotten it’s due regard in the culinary industry. This vegetable is of high nutritional and medicinal value. Okra can however be eaten raw, cooked or steamed, depending on the diet plan.
Okra is also known as a lady’s finger. Several parts of the plant such as the immature okra pods are widely used in tropical countries and are typically used for making stews and soups.
Due to its rich source of antioxidants, dietary fiber and other important vitamins and minerals, okra is known to be beneficial in a number of ways.
Health Benefits
Okra helps in preventing and improving constipation: The pods are known to be excellent sources of mucilage substance, and this substance helps in smooth peristalsis of digested food through the gut, hereby easing constipation.
Okra pods are excellent sources of vitamin C, thus they help to build, develop and protect the body from infectious agents. They also aid in reducing episodes of cold and cough.
They are also rich in vitamin B-complex and other vitamins like niacin, thiamine.
The consumption of okra aids in lowering cholesterol.
Okra also helps in improving energy levels and alleviating other symptoms of depression
Okra can be used as a natural home remedy for treating sore throat, ulcers, irritable bowel and lung inflammations.
This vegetable helps in fighting diabetes by stabilizing blood glucose levels, thereby, slowing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract.
The okra pods are also known to be a good source of many important minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese.
These are few of the many benefits of okra.
Having known few of these health benefits, it is advisable to increase your consumption of these wonderful plant; as it is cheap, readily available and could help you stay healthy.
