Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd

Bitter gourd, as the name suggests, is a green coloured vegetable that is bitter in taste which is why many of us hated to have it while growing up. However, we should add it to our daily diet because of the many health benefits of bitter gourd that we can derive from having it daily.

Keeping the slightly bitter taste aside, it provides your body with all it needs like antioxidants, vitamins, proteins, good fats, etc. Moreover, it can even help solve chronic problems like diabetes, low immunity, etc. To know more about these benefits in detail, read on!

What Are the Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd?

If you are looking for a vegetable loaded with nutrients and health benefits, bitter gourd is an excellent option. It can help maintain the well-being of people by keeping their sugar levels in check and detoxifying the body from harmful chemicals. Check the benefits of eating bitter gourd daily in detail below:

1. Keeps Diabetes in Control

This bitter vegetable is a good source of charantin (peptides with similar properties to insulin) and alkaloids. These help keep diabetes problems in control and avoid spikes of sugar levels in the blood. Besides, it also regulates the body’s metabolism and provides the body with soluble fibre. In addition, this vegetable is a potent hypoglycemic agent that is an important factor in diabetic patient diet food.

2. Good for Hair and Skin Health

There are hair and skin benefits of bitter gourd, too, as it contains a high quantity of vitamin A, vitamin C, and antioxidants. These compounds help keep your skin healthy by fighting acne, reducing aging and removing skin blemishes. Apart from this, consuming bitter gourd juice daily can also treat skin infections like psoriasis, ringworm, itching, etc.

3. Improves Immunity

The body needs antioxidants and vitamin C in high quantities to maintain a good immunity system to fight back the diseases. Thanks to the bitter gourd, it has a high content of both compounds. It is also a rich source of anti-inflammatory properties that scouts the body for free radicals and prevents other dangerous compounds from entering. As a result, you can save yourself from frequent illness and even prevent chronic conditions like kidney stones, heart problems, and liver failure.

4. Purifies Blood

One of the biggest advantages of bitter gourd is that it helps purify your blood with the help of its antioxidant and strong antimicrobial properties. As a result, it makes sure that blood reaches your heart adequately and even prevents various skin diseases like eczema.

5. Relieves Respiratory Conditions

Numerous studies support the fact that bitter gourd helps relieve various respiratory conditions like bronchitis, asthma, and rhinitis. It can do so because of its antiviral, anti-inflammatory, suppressant, expectorant, and anti-histamine properties that keep respiratory health in check.

6. Weight Management

One of the biggest benefits of eating bitter gourd is it helps in maintaining weight. This is because this vegetable is low in calories and rich in fibre. So, by having it, you are not only stopping the growth of adipose cells in the body but also avoiding the store of fat. In addition, it boosts the metabolism rate and detoxifies your body of all harmful content. Thus, your body can burn fat at a better rate and avoid eating junk as it keeps you full.

7. Improves Digestion

Bitter gourd is a rich source of fibre that improves bowel movement in the body by helping the digestive system work smoothly and efficiently. In addition, since 92% of the vegetable is water, it keeps your body hydrated and cool.

8. Cleanses Liver

This green vegetable is a very good friend of your liver as it detoxifies it from every toxin by clearing out any residue of alcohol deposited in your liver. Apart from this, bitter gourd also boosts liver enzymes and helps it function better. By eating this green vegetable daily, you can also keep your gut and bladder healthy.

What Are the Nutritional Values of Bitter Gourd?

The following is the nutritional value of bitter gourd that you can extract by consuming 94 grams of it in one serving:

Calories: 20
Fibre: 2 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Vitamin C: 93% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
Vitamin A: 44% of the RDI
Folate: 17% of the RDI
Potassium: 8% of the RDI
Iron: 4% of the RDI
Zinc: 5% of the RDI

How to Include Bitter Gourd in Your Daily Diet?

We need to adopt it in our daily lives to enjoy the above health benefits of bitter gourd. However, it is hard to consume it in simple forms because of its bitter taste. So, here are some ways you can enjoy it in your daily life:

1. Tea

You can make a healthy tea to enjoy early in the morning. For it, you will need to boil a cup of water and add freshly sliced bitter gourd with honey or agave syrup in it.

2. Stir Fried

bittergourd stir fry — (source: thespruceeats)

Cooking bitter gourd in a stir fried way is one of the tastiest ways to have it if you want to avoid the bitter taste. The making process is simple, and just like you cook any other vegetable, the only catch is you have to make the vegetable crispy.

3. Karela Juice

bittergourd kerala juice — (source: drinkfiltered)

You can also have bitter gourd in the form of juice. All you need to do is blend raw bitter melon along with some water or other juice in it.

Who Should Avoid Eating Bitter Gourd?

Though it is safe to eat bitter gourds in general, doctors often recommend avoiding bitter gourds for the following medical conditions:

High Sugar Level Patient: If you are a diabetic patient and take medicines to keep your sugar level, it is better to avoid eating bitter gourd. This is because it may interfere with the action and lower your blood sugar level even below the recommended level.
Surgery: When having surgery, it is best not to have a bitter gourd for at least 2 weeks before it. Also, avoid it after the surgery as it might change your blood sugar level, causing problems.
Pregnant Women: Having excessive bitter gourd for pregnant women is not safe as the vegetable is associated with increased menstrual flow and abortifacient effects. In addition, it can also trigger miscarriage.

What Are the Side Effects of Overeating Bitter Gourds?

The following are the health risks that you may encounter if you over consume bitter gourd:

Liver Inflammation: Over consuming bitter gourd can cause liver inflammation because of a compound present in it called monorcharins. Also, it is not associated with directly damaging the liver, but consuming it for a long time has elevated liver enzymes and led to atherosclerosis. It is a condition when your arteries harden.
Irregular Heart Beat: Bitter gourd has also been associated with affecting the heart rhythm by pooling blood on one side of your heart. As a result, it leads to the formation of clots resulting in a stroke or heart attack.
Vomiting or Diarrhoea: Another side effect that you may suffer by overconsuming bitter gourd is diarrhoea or vomit. It is because of the content of cucurbitacins in the vegetable, which is toxic and may result in increased body toxicity.
Kidney Issue: Overconsumption of bitter gourd can also interfere with your kidney functions. So, it is always better to limit its dosage level.
Hypoglycemia Coma: Hypoglycemia coma is a type of coma that you develop when injected insulin dosage exceeds. This decreases your blood sugar levels and interferes with your heart rhythm too.

This is all the information you can find on the health benefits of bitter gourd, along with how to incorporate it, who should avoid it and its possible side effects. So, if you are suffering from any of the problems covered above or have a family history and are in danger of suffering from it in future, then adopt bitter gourd in your daily diet. However, avoid eating too much to save yourself from its side effects.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ Is it safe to drink bitter gourd juice at night?

You can drink the juice of bitter gourd at any time of the day. The antioxidant properties present in it will help flush out all toxins collected during the day. Also, it helps detoxify your liver for better function.

✓ Are there any precautions to take care of when consuming bitter gourd?

One should avoid eating the seeds of bitter gourd as it leads to an upset stomach and other problems. Also, consult with your doctor if you can add this vegetable to your diet if you are a diabetic patient taking medicine or pregnant.