Do you remember all the times when you scrunched up your nose when you were told it was Bhindi for lunch? Well, little did you know at the time that the humble bhindi, or lady’s finger, has a host of health and nutrition benefits.
Bhubaneswar: Lady Finger or Okra has been an inseparable part of Indian cuisine. Called ‘Bhindi’ in Hindi, this green vegetable is rich in fibre and contains a lot of essential nutrients.
Ladyfinger is a commonly found vegetable which is eaten all over the world. A native of Africa, this pod vegetable belongs to the mallow family and is cultivated in warm and temperate climates.
It contains many vitamins and minerals, which are essential for the body. This gooey green vegetable is equally loved and hated for its taste and texture, but it is rich in fibre and other nutrients like vitamins A, B, and C with other minerals.
This vegetable is super low on calorie content, only 30kcal per 100 gm, which makes it an ideal option for those aiming to shed those pesky kilos. It is also known to make you feel full soon and keep you full for longer since it is high in fibre content.
Tip: Don’t load up your ladies’ finger dish with fatty foods like oil, ghee or butter; otherwise, the purpose will be defeated.
Lowers Cholesterol
Since the ladies’ finger is high in several kinds of fibres, they bring various health benefits. This vegetable contains fibre of eugenic, which assists in slowing the process of digestion and thereby lowers the absorption of sugar from the bloodstream. In effect, after a meal, this process avoids hiking up blood sugar levels and stabilises them.
Tip: Try and have ladies’ fingers for at least two meals a week to have maximum benefit.
Helps In Better Digestion
This benefit again can be attributed to the high fibre content of ladies’ fingers. The fibre helps better digestion as well as to regularise bowel movements. The fibre pectin goes up in size in the pieces of digestion within the intestine and thus enables waste elimination easily.
The vitamin C content of ladies’ fingers helps build a person’s general immunity. While most green vegetables help with this, a lady’s finger has a host of other benefits that can be tapped by having it.
People suffering from constipation benefit from regular consumption of lady’s fingers. The fibre content of a lady’s fingers promotes digestion and regularization of the bowels. Pectin swells up in the intestine and helps in the easier elimination of waste from the intestine.
Tip: If you are not fond of the plain vegetable with roti, try and camouflage it in mixed vegetable curries.
Improves Anemic Condition
Since ladies’ finger contains iron, folate and vitamin K, it helps improve the iron and folic acid content of the body in a natural manner, which in turn assists in combatting anaemia.
Tip: Ensure you buy fresh and tender ladies’ fingers, not ones where the pieces have gone limp.
Betters Eyesight
Tip: Since the ladies’ finger is not eaten raw, the best way to have it is to lightly sauté it, and add the spices you like.
Helps In Hair Health
The properties of ladies’ fingers go beyond eating them. The vegetable is used as a home remedy for treating dandruff and infestation of lice and nits.
How to do it: Ensure you get fresh ladies’ fingers from the market. Wash about 10 to 12 pieces thoroughly and then slit them vertically.
Boil some lady finger pods in water until you see the transparent mucilage.
Tip: Ensure you rub it properly on the scalp and run it through the hair lengths with your fingers.
Improves your skin
Having regular bowel movements vastly improves the condition of your skin, making you less likely to suffer from acne, psoriasis and other skin conditions. The vitamins in ladies’ fingers also help to keep your skin young and prevent any pigmentation
Controls Blood Sugar:
This benefit of lady finger (Bhindi) may be attributed to its fibre content. Eugenol a type of fibre, helps in slowing down digestion and absorption of sugar from the bloodstream. Hence it helps in avoiding sugar spikes after the meal and stabilizes blood sugar levels.
Ladies’ fingers contain plenty of fibre and mucilage, which control the absorption of sugar in your small intestine and thereby regulate your blood sugar levels. In case you’re wondering what mucilage is, it is the gluey substance that gives ladies’ fingers their sliminess.
Enables weight loss
Ladies’ fingers contain plenty of nutrition while still being low in calories. In fact, they are among the lowest-calorie vegetables and they contain no saturated fats, making them the perfect addition to your diet if you would like to lose weight. In fact, they even protect you from trans fats. Eating ladies’ fingers regularly is recommended to help ward off obesity.
Improves pregnancy
The folate content in ladies’ fingers makes them a good food to eat during pregnancy since this nutrient has been linked to a decreased incidence of neural tube defects in babies.
Treatment Of Anaemia:
Ladyfinger contains iron and folate and Vitamin K which help in the treatment of anaemia by promoting the level of haemoglobin in the body.
Ladies’ fingers are high in iron, which improves the production of red blood cells in your body and prevents anaemia.
Improves mental health
Eating ladies’ fingers also helps to prevent fatigue, weakness and depression.