Lady’s Finger

12 Remarkable Facts About Okra (and why you should be eating it)

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Okra is a flowering plant that is known in many parts of the world as Lady’s Finger. It has become very popular as a natural medicine as a result of its seed pods. Frequently used in Caribbean and Chinese dishes, okra is a versatile food ingredient. It can be used in soups, side dishes and as a pickle.

okra

Okra is fast becoming a popular health food. It has a number of beneficial qualities that can help improve your health.

A lot of people have heard that okra is great, but they don’t really know the details.

12 Amazing Health Benefits of okra

Prevents Diabetes
The presence of Eugenol in Okra helps fight against diabetes. The fibre also helps stabilize blood sugar level by delaying sugar absorption from the intestines.

Improves Immunity
The high Vitamin C content in okro helps fight cold and cough by encouraging a healthy immune system. The Vitamin C and many essential minerals like magnesium, manganese, calcium and iron in okra also fight against harmful free radicals and therefore promote an overall healthy immune system.

Prevents Constipation
Okra is one of the best vegetable sources of dietary fibre essential for the digestive system. Dietary fibres in okra help prevent and relieve constipation. The soluble fibre in okra absorbs water and adds bulk to the stool thus preventing constipation.

Stronger bones
Okra is rich in vitamin K. Vitamin K improves calcium absorption, reduces urinary excretion of calcium, and acts as a modifier of bone matrix proteins and fight osteoporosis.

Visual health
Okra is an excellent source for beta-carotene, xanthein, and lutein. These antioxidants seek and neutralize harmful biological waste that can disrupt cellular metabolism, increase degradation of cells in the body, and impair vision. Antioxidants can protect your eyesight from macular degeneration and cataracts.

No cholesterol
Okra itself contains no cholesterol and very little fat. This makes it an excellent food to replace high cholesterol fatty foods, such as rich desserts and fatty meats, with.
Okra also contains high amounts of pectin, which helps decrease blood cholesterol levels by interfering with bile absorption in the intestines and forcing the liver to use circulating cholesterol to make more bile.

Weight Loss
Okra is low in calories. A one and a half cup serving of okra contains just 18 calories. As mentioned, it is also a good source of antioxidant vitamins A and C, as well as folate. All of these factors, combined with the high fiber content, make it a great vegetable for weight loss.

Asthma
Good for asthma, it contains vitamin C which is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, curtailing the development of asthma symptoms.

Heal Ulcer
Used for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber. It helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline, and provides a temporary protective coating for the digestive tract.

More Fiber
The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize the blood sugar by curbing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from within the intestinal tract.

Kidney Disease
One study published in the October 2005 Jilin Medical Journal found that regular consumption of okra can help prevent kidney disease. In the study, “those who ate okra daily reduced clinical signs of kidney damage more than those that simply ate a diabetic diet.” This also ties in with diabetes, as nearly 50% of kidney disease cases are caused by diabetes.

Healthy Skin
Vitamin C helps keep the skin looking young and vibrant. The vitamin aids in the growth and repair of bodily tissues, which affects collagen formation and skin pigmentation, and helps to rejuvenate damaged skin. Okra is full of vitamin C. Topical tip: Boil a handful of okra until soft. After letting it cool, mash it, and apply it to your face. After 5 minutes, your skin should feel smooth and rejuvenated.

 

What Is Okra (Lady’s Finger) And 6 Benefits Of Adding The Medicinal Vegetable To Your Diet

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Pieces of okra
Sink your teeth into okra’s health benefits, which range from treating diabetes to preventing kidney disease. Rebecca Wilson, CC BY 2.0

The beginning of September signals that fall is on its way, along with leaves, and… okra? The exotic medicinal and culinary vegetable (available year-round), is best to get in early fall when crops in Southern states reach their peak. Typically, okra is used as a thickening agent in soups like gumbo because of its ooey-gooey texture, but it can double as a nutritional powerhouse filled with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that provide an array of health benefits from treating diabetes to preventing kidney disease.

A single cup of raw okra has a little over 30 calories, about 3 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of protein, 7.6 grams carbohydrates, 0.1 grams of fat, 21 milligrams of vitamin C, around 88 micrograms of folate, and 57 milligrams of magnesium. This makes okra a nutrition hero and a very available food when it comes to our health.

Whether you consume okra stewed, boiled, fried, or even in pickled form, you can reap the health benefits of this little green vegetable any time of the year. Here’s how:

Alleviates Asthma

Consuming even small amounts of fruits or vegetables rich in vitamin C, like okra (21 milligrams per cup), can alleviate asthma symptoms. A 2000 study published in the journalThorax found the intake of citrus or kiwi fruits conferred a highly protective effect against wheezing symptoms in childhood. The protective effect was seen even among children who ate fruit only one to two times per week. The researchers found this to be especially true among already susceptible patients.

Lowers Cholesterol

Okra not only promotes good digestive health, but also good cholesterol levels due to its high fiber content. Soluble fiber can be dissolved in water, which means that it breaks down in the digestive tract. There, it also binds to cholesterol in other foods so that it can be excreted along with other wastes. In turn, total cholesterol levels plummet, according to the Harvard Health Publications. Okra also helps to lower cholesterol by replacing all the foods you eat with high fat and cholesterol levels — okra contains no cholesterol and very little fat.

Manages Diabetes

Soluble fiber can help diabetics because of its ability to keep blood glucose levels stable — it affects how sugar is absorbed in the intestines. In a 2011 study published in the journalISRN Pharmaceutics, researchers soaked sliced okra pods in water and then gave rats the solution through a gastric feeding tube — a control group wasn’t fed this solution. The researchers found okra helped reduce the absorption rate of glucose and in turn reduced blood sugar levels in the treated rats.

Boosts Immune System

Okra’s rich vitamin C content and antioxidant components also double as decent immune boosters against unsafe free radicals, while also supporting the immune system. Vitamin C stimulates the immune system to create more white blood cells, which can help battle other foreign pathogens and materials in the body.

Prevents Kidney Disease

Regularly eating okra can be helpful for preventing kidney disease. A 2005 study published in the Jilin Medical Journal found patients who ate okra daily reduced clinical signs of kidney damage more than those who were on a diabetic diet. This is helpful since nearly half of kidney disease cases develop from diabetes.

Promotes Healthy Pregnancy

Okra’s high levels of vitamin A, B vitamins (B1, B2, B6), and vitamin C, and traces of zinc and calcium, make it an ideal vegetable to eat during pregnancy. Okra also serves as a supplement for fiber and folic acid. This helps prevent birth defects like spina bifida and can even stop constipation during pregnancy.