Kidney Health Archives | Page 18 of 28 | Dr. Vikram Chauhan's Blog

7 Reasons Why You Should Start Eating Karela (Bitter Gourd)

Overview

Bitter Gourd (Karela) is also known as Balsam Pear or Bitter Melon. It is also called Momordica charantia and is a climbing shrub that grows in tropical climate. It belongs to the same plant family as cucumbers, pumpkin and squash. It is despised for its bitter taste but is considered one of the best foods to be consumed because of its various health benefits. Bitter Gourd is not a vegetable but a fruit as the part of the plant that is used for consumption and for medicinal purpose.

Bitter Gourd is packed with nutrients ranging from iron, magnesium, calcium, beta carotene, vitamin c and potassium. It is an excellent source of dietary fiber. It is a good source of Omega 6 fatty acid, linoleic acid, and Oleic acid. Bitter gourd is very beneficial in managing disorders like diabetes and asthma.

The leaves and Bitter Gourd itself can be consumed for health benefits. It can be either cooked as a dish, baked, boiled, fried or consumed as raw juice. It can be either made into a smoothie along with apples and spinach or be cooked as soup. It is also available in form of baked chips, pickles and chutneys. There are numerous reasons why one should start eating Bitter Gourd.

Some of the most important reasons are listed below:

Weight Management:

Bitter gourd is a natural agent for treating obesity. The fruit is low in calories, fats and carbohydrates. 100 grams of Bitter Gourd contains just 20 calories. It has the ability to keep one fuller for a longer period of time. The pods of Bitter gourd contain 80% water. Bitter melon contains antioxidants that improve metabolism and flush out toxins from the body. Regular consumption of Bitter Gourd helps in relieving constipation and indigestion. Thus, it is very useful in losing weight.

Blood Purifier:

The anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties of bitter gourd help it to clear toxins from the body, purify it and improve blood circulation throughout the body. Bitter Gourd juice should be consumed in the morning on an empty stomach to detox the body. It helps with controlling blood clotting too, thus helping the wounds to heal faster.
Bitter Gourd is used to treat acne, rashes, psoriasis, toxemia, blood boils and itching in any part of the body. It is rich in folate and is very useful for menstruating women and pregnant women to prevent anemia and maintain blood iron levels. Bitter Gourd is known to reduce neural tube defects in developing baby if consumed at the time of pregnancy.

Treats Respiratory disorders:

Bitter Gourd is a simple home remedy to relief cough, cold, improve breathing and clear up the sputum. The pods of Bitter Gourd is used to treat asthma.

Manages Diabetes:

Bitter gourd contains polypeptide-p (p insulin), alkaloids and charatin which help in reducing blood sugar levels naturally for Type 2 diabetic patients. Consuming bitter gourd, helps in regulating metabolism, thus prevents unpredictable spikes and drops in insulin levels.
Bitter gourd increases the absorption of glucose by the liver, fats and muscle tissue thus helps in reducing blood sugar levels and reduces demand on pancreas for insulin.
Bitter gourd acts as a hypoglycemic agent. Consuming bitter gourd juice increases the uptake of glucose and improves the glycemic control. Bitter Gourd activates the kinases protein that helps in absorption of sugar, thus aids in bringing diabetes under control.
Plant based insulin in bitter gourd also helps patients with type 1 diabetes. A glass of bitter gourd juice, daily (50 ml) is the most successful home remedy for diabetes.

Cleanses the liver:

A glass of bitter gourd juice daily acts as liver tonic and heal all kinds of liver problems. The juice cleanses the bowel and prevents liver failure by strengthening the anti-oxidant activity of the liver enzymes. It is very helpful in improving liver and kidney functions. It repairs liver and increases its capacity to clean blood.

Improves Eye sight:

Bitter Gourd is a good source of Lutein and Zeaxanthin and Vitamin A. It helps in preventing cataract development and progression.
Vitamin A also plays an important role in cell communication and aids in new cell growth and development.
Consuming Bitter gourd (raw, cooked or in juice form) helps in maintaining better vision by supporting retinal function and nourishing the corneas and conjunctival membranes.
Bitter Gourd is also a great home remedy to treat dark circles. It helps in preventing all vision related problems and strengthens the eye sight over time.

Boosts Skin and Hair Health:

The regular consumption of Bitter Gourd protects the skin from blemishes and acne. The vitamin C content in Bitter gourd makes it a power anti-oxidant that fights harmful free radicals and prevents wrinkles. This fruit contains anti-ageing properties as it keeps the tissues strong by facilitating collagen production thus it slows down the aging process naturally. It also protects the skin from Ultra Violet rays damage. Consuming Bitter Gourd helps to get rid of deep skin infections.

How to Use

Applying Bitter gourd juice to the scalp decreases hair loss and graying of the hair. It treats dandruff, scalp itchiness, split ends and rough hair. The juice may be applied directly to the scalp or mixed with some curd. Biotin, Zinc and Vitamin A and C help in imparting shine and luster to the hair.

Other Benefits of Bitter Gourd

Bitter Gourd has proved to be beneficial for HIV/AIDS patients as they contain phytochemicals which improve immunity and reduce the overall infection and inflammation in the patient. It also helps in lowering cholesterol levels, thus reducing risk of heart problems.
Bitter Gourd is a rich source of Vitamin C that protects our cells from free radicals involved in cancer development. It boosts immunity and helps in iron absorption in the body. It also improves stamina and energy levels of the individual and aids sound sleep.
To make Bitter Gourd less bitter one can sauté it in olive oil or sprinkle some salt over the cut bitter gourd pieces and let it sit for few minutes. Soaking Bitter Gourd in Tamarind juice also helps in taking away the bitterness.

How Helpful is Ayurvedic Remedies in Kidney Stones?

Introduction

Kidney stone is not a stone exactly, but in fact is the crystallization of minerals and waste materials, which is found in urine, when they all get assembled in the kidney blocking the canal that passes urine, thus causing pain. Sometimes it is too small to be noticed, but can expand its size with time, up to the size of a grapefruit. It is only then that it begins blocking the flow of urine, causing extreme pain and bleeding. In Ayurvedic language it means Vrukka Ashmari ( Vrukka means kidney and Ashmari means the stone). The treatment is different for every person in Ayurveda, as every individual body has its own features.

What are the Causes of Kidney Stones

The reason why the kidney stone gets created is improper and unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle, without much physical activity, doing physical work excessively, working for too long under the sun, excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea and eating oily, heavy and Junk food. All these leave no space for consumption of fresh vegetables, water and alkaline producing foods. When you ignore & suppress the urge to pass stool or urine can also cause the formation of kidney stone

Natural Ways to Treat Kidney Stones

Ayurveda treats all patients with natural herbal medicines that you have access to. Ayurveda recommends:

Coconut Water:

Drink lots of coconut water, as it is considered to be the best drink for the kidney stone to get mixed with urine and be flushed out. It is cool and healthy drink that helps to dissolve the kidney stone with urine. The burning sensation you get during urination, it heals that too.

Lemon juice with Honey:

Mix raw honey in your glass of lemon juice cum warm or normal water. You can either add honey or rock salt, depending on your taste. This lemon juice is a safe bet for removal of kidney stones.

Water:

The first & foremost remedy for the removal of kidney stone is to drink lots & lots of water. It is the cheapest and best remedy to make the kidney stone flush out. The more you drink water, the more you need to urinate and the urine will let the stone to dissolve itself in it and will get flushed out. Along with the stone it will keep you hydrated and lets out all the toxins and waste products which are responsible for creating a kidney stone. Drink water a little more than necessary, at least 8 to 10 glasses a day.

Tulsi or (Basil):

Tulsi, a holy plant according to Hindu mythology, is a plant that enhances the balance between minerals, fluid and uric acid. Its leaves can be used to make tea, juice can be taken raw with honey to make it a little tasty, and had it for 2- 3 times a day. Tulsi is also responsible for enhancing kidney health, so it will be a lot better if we make it a habit to drink Tulsi tea, but the Tulsi plant should be organic.

Kollu or (Horse Gram):

Kollu or Kulti is also helpful in prevention, if a kidney stone does get formed, it peters it out. It also removes the stones that get formed in the gall bladder. It helps in scattering the kidney stones into small tiny pieces, which makes the urine very easy to carry along. All the blockages in the urinary tract are flushed out easily.

Vendakkai (Lady’s Finger/ Okra/ Bhindi in Hindi):

This is a green vegetable that has magnesium, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, thus it prevents the crystallization of chemicals that gets accumulated in the kidney to form a kidney stone. When it stops their assembly, it reduces the chances of formation of kidney stone. So it is a safe remedy for kidney stone.

Phyllanthus Niruri,

Phyllanthus Niruri also famous as Bhumyamalaki, is a green plant which is mostly used in Ayurveda to treat kidney stone. It is recognized due to its herbal and medicinal qualities. According to a review, it is found that it prevents the birth of a kidney stone. So it is considered a safe bet for your kidney.
It is a widely spread tropical plant, which is found in the coastal areas, which is popularly known as stone-breaker, seed under leaf and gale of the wind. It is a relative of herbaceous plant, which belongs to the genus Phyllanthus, which comes from the family of Phyllanthaceae.

What are the Prevention and Tips

You can also take some other preventive steps for not letting the kidney stone to get created like:

You should limit the consumption of too much salt, as ‘excess of everything is bad’ so is of salt. Drink lots of water, make sure it is clean, and drink lots of fluids that are good for your health, like fruit juices, soups and nutritious drinks, not the ones that contain alcohol, tea or coffee.
If you still feel the urge to consume it, better restrict and put a limit on them and have them occasionally. Don’t make it a habit to consume them daily.
Daily exercise is a necessity, the heat generated while exercising makes the stone fizzle out.
Try to avoid unhealthy foods like sugar, junk foods, sugary drinks, processed foods, black tea, soft drinks, sodas, alcoholic drinks and chocolate.
Reduce or just quit having non-vegetarian food items like meat, eggs and poultry products, which are responsible for enhancing the uric acid level in urine.
If you do need some healthy foods for your body to function normally, better opt for vegetable proteins, sprouted grains, whole grain bread, pulses and various different lentils. All these don’t let the kidney stone to create its structure.
It is easy to treat such renal stones via Ayurveda, without any surgery. If you ignore it, it might pass on to the bladder and kidneys. If its size expands, it can cause havoc inside your body and damage many other organs. If you are slightly doubtful, better go to an Ayurvedic doctor and get a test done. You can contact Planet Ayurveda too. It is just a click away at planetayurveda.com