Bitter gourd or Momordica charantia is a type of vegetable with luffa with a million health benefits. Momordica charantia has many names, including bitter melon, bitter apple, bitter squash, bitter gourd, and balsam-pear. Consuming bitter gourd is highly recommended because it is good for the health of the body. But the problem is that very few people like this food because of its bitter taste. Almost the same as jengkol or petai which is bitter in taste, but this food is still consumed or cooked with Aceh noodles. Unlike the bitter gourd which is only cooked by stir-frying it with vegetables, meat or other food ingredients.
However, this article is here because I want to provide information about the nutritional content of bitter gourd and its benefits for health, thereby increasing the enthusiasm for consuming it. For those of you who don’t like Momordica charantia, please refer to the benefits of bitter gourd for health, hopefully you will be interested in consuming it because there are many health benefits.
Benefits of Bitter Gourd Based on its Nutritional Content
Bitter gourd is an amazing vegetable that’s very low in calories, in a 100 gram serving, only containing about 17 cal. only. Not only is it low in calories, bitter gourd also contains many important nutrients for the body such as anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, minerals, fiber, and vitamins.
Based on the many nutritional content in bitter gourd vegetables, here are the benefits of this vegetable for health. Hopefully this is useful and adds to our knowledge about Momordica Charantia.
Also see; Benefits of Eating Papaya
Phyto Nutrients
This bitter vegetable actually contains phyto-nutrients such as polypeptides-P. This is known as insulin from a plant which is useful for lowering blood sugar levels. Not only that, bitter melon vegetables also contain a hypoglycemic known as charantin, the benefit of which is to improve the absorption of glucose and glycogen synthesis in liver cells, adipose tissue and muscle. This high content causes bitter melon to be one of the most effective type-2 diabetes drugs.
Folate
Apart from containing phyto nutrients, it also contains folate. Fresh bitter gourd is an excellent source of folate and contains around 72 mg of folate in every 100 g (18% of the RDA). Folate is a very important nutrient for pregnant women because it can provide health to the fetus in her womb. One of the benefits of folate is to prevent birth defects and provide good neurodevelopment for newborns.
Vitamin C
Furthermore, the benefits of bitter melon are based on its vitamin C content. In the content of 100 grams of bitter melon contains 84 mg of vitamin C or this is as much as 140% of the RDI). The benefits and functions of vitamin C are to maintain a healthy body, prevent diseases including cancer because vitamin C functions as an antioxidant that the body needs.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids are adequate nutrients needed for good body health. Among the flavonoids are ß-carotene, α-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein. Vitamin A is also found in bitter gourd and its function is also quite good, which acts as a protection against oxygen radicals that play a role in aging, and various types of cancer.
Vitamin B Complex
The vitamin B complex is one of the nutrients in bitter gourd, the benefits of bitter melon based on the content of complex B vitamins are to maintain healthy blood, bones, and others. Among the B-complex vitamins include substances such as niacin (vitamin B-3), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), and also contain minerals such as zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium, and manga.
See also; Which Foods Have More Vitamin C Than An Orange
Fiber
The health benefits of bitter melon are also related to digestive health. It helps peristalsis in the intestine until it is excreted by the body. So, consuming bitter melon fruit is useful for preventing constipation and constipation.
The benefits of bitter melon for health are very large, so it is highly recommended to consume these foods as additional nutrients for the body and maintain good body health.
Benefits for Skin and Hair
Apart from the benefits of bitter melon as above, there are also other benefits related to beauty such as the benefits of bitter melon for hair and skin. Here we will see what are the benefits for hair and skin.
The benefits of bitter melon or Momordica charantia for the skin are related to cleansing the blood, bitter melon is useful for cleansing the blood so that it gives the skin a bright and naturally beautiful skin tone, besides that it is also good for hair health by maintaining the strength of the hair so that it does not break and fall out easily.
1. Benefits of bitter melon for the skin
Consuming bitter melon regularly is good for skin health such as treating skin infections, psoriasis and eczema. You can try to consume bitter melon regularly either in cooking with food or making juice.
2. Prevent aging
The high vitamin C content in bitter melon provides extraordinary benefits, especially for preventing premature aging. Vitamin C is useful as an antioxidant which will eliminate free radicals in the body so that the body is sterile from toxins and causes premature aging.
3. Dazzle hair
The next benefit is dazzling hair. How to make natural ingredients from bitter melon for the benefits of dazzling hair is easy. Take a glass of bitter melon juice and mix it with yogurt. Rinse for a few moments and see what happens. Your hair will shine and shine beautifully.
4. Anti dandruff
The appearance of dandruff on the scalp can be caused by various causes. Among them are foods that are not right, then one of the right foods is bitter melon. We can also make masks or rinse herbs for hair to get rid of dandruff. The mixture of bitter melon or Momordica charantia and cumin seeds can eradicate dandruff that appears on the head. do this treatment for a month for maximum results.
5. Treating oily hair
Furthermore, the benefits of bitter melon are to treat oily hair. One of the causes of oily hair is consuming lots of fatty foods. Fatty foods can cause increased removal of fat from the body in the form of oil, including the hair.
The benefits of bitter melon for beauty are turning oily hair into healthy hair. Bitter gourd juice mixed with apple cider vinegar is good for removing excess oil on the hair.
6. Coarse and tangled hair
Furthermore, the health benefits of Momordica charantia or bitter melon are to treat coarse and frizzy hair. If you have this problem, of course you know how difficult it is to have coarse hair like this. But you don’t need to worry because there is bitter gourd juice that can handle your problem.
A glass of bitter melon juice is smeared and rinse the hair, let stand for 15 minutes and rinse again. It is good for preventing rough, tangled hair into fine, soft, tangle-free hair.
Other Health Benefits of Bitter Melon
7. Treating malaria
Malaria is a disease caused by the malaria virus which is carried by mosquitoes infected with this virus, namely the aedes aegypti mosquito. Consuming bitter melon is good for treating and curing malaria. The content of carbohydrates and albiminoids are substances that play a role in treating malaria.
8. Treating cancer
The flavonoids in bitter melon function as anti-free radicals. Free radicals that come from the air, food, drinks that enter the body every day can accumulate to cause cancer. The ability of bitter melon to get rid of free radicals is very high so that it can prevent and treat cancer.
9. Healthy fetus
The bitter melon fruit is also beneficial for the health of the fetus in the womb until birth. Bitter gourd or bitter squash also contains high levels of folic acid, which is a very important substance for fetal intelligence and fetal health in preventing malaria.
10. Good for eye health
Vitamin A is one of the essential nutrients for the health of our eyes. Apart from being rich in antioxidants from vitamin C, bitter melon is also rich in antioxidants from vitamin A which are good enough for maintaining eye health. How to get the benefits of bitter melon for eye health? It’s easy, we can consume bitter melon regularly, we can add it to vegetables, or make fresh juice and drink it regularly.
Other Benefits of Bitter Melon
Benefits of bitter squash from the Content of Vitamin C
- Preventing the rise of high blood pressure
- Prevent heart attack
- Reduces cold complications
- Repair dead skin cell tissue
- Improve mood
Benefits of bitter melon from its iron content
- Carry oxygen throughout the body
- Body temperature control
- Helps brain function
- Prevent anemia
- Improve the immune system
Benefits of bitter gourd from Vitamin A.
- Inhibits the movement of cancer cells
- Sharpen eyesight
- Strengthens the placenta of the baby
- Good for male reproductive health, and
- Healthy nasal cavity
Bitter Gourd Disadvantages
Bitter gourd, which has quite high health benefits also has many disadvantages that can be caused. There are several side effects of consuming bitter melon as follows:
Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers
At a glance, the benefits of bitter melon for pregnant women are good for the fetus in the womb. However, the nature of the contraction of bitter melon can sometimes cause abortion or miscarriage of the fetus. So for pregnant women it is not recommended to consume bitter melon during early pregnancy because it is feared it will cause unwanted things. Likewise, the effect on the mother is seductive, it is better to consult a doctor if you want to consume bitter melon for the health of nursing mothers.
Also read; Best Fruit Juice During Pregnancy
Bitter Gourd Disadvantage for Diabetic
Diabetics are actually good at consuming bitter melon because it can lower blood sugar. But you are not recommended to consume large amounts because it can cause blood sugar to drop and can be fatal. So, always check how much blood sugar before consuming bitter melon.
For surgery patients
For those who are or want to carry out surgical operations, you should stop consuming bitter melon because it is not known how the effect of blood sugar is. So you should stop consuming bitter melon for 2 weeks before surgery and after.
OK, that’s the benefits of bitter gourd or bitter melon for health and It’s advantages, hopefully it will increase our knowledge about the benefits of bitter melon and get many benefits for our health.