Bitter Gourd
Bitter Gourd (classical name: Momordica charantia, Momordica carentia; English: Bitter Gourd, बिटर गुर्द – Marathi pronunciation Goard 😉 (Hindi – Karela; Gujarati – Karelo; Kannada – Hagalakai, Hagalhannu, Hagala; Sanskrit – Kandura, Karavalli, Karvellakam, Kathilla) (c); Bengali – Badkarela Uchche; Tamil – Pakai, Mitipakal) is a vine found in tropical regions of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean islands. It bears bitter-tasting, rough-skinned fruits. Its young fruits are used in cooking as a vegetable. There are many varieties of karala which vary in outer shape or peel and hardness. If the curry is too bitter, the water released from it is reduced while making the vegetables.
plants
Karela is a bisexual (male and female flowers on the same vine) branched plant with notches on its trunks. Younger parts are more hairy and the vine climbs up by simple, slender and long tendrils. Leaves are simple, pinnate, pinnate and divided into 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are unisexual and yellow, 5-10 cm long, on long stalks. The unripe fruits are green or white and ripe fruits are dark orange, 5-15 cm long, hanging (suspending), brick-shaped and bitter in taste, with small pits on them. They are useful for vegetables.
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Medicinal uses of Bitter Gourd
1 Bitter Gourd fruit is cooling and nutritious and improves digestion when eaten.
2 Cough, bile, joint pain, dermatitis, leprosy, constipation, diabetes etc. It is effective against disorders.
3 Regular consumption of Karela or Karela juice reduces weight.
Bitter Gourd contain vitamins A, B and C.
Karela improves digestion.
Karela is a monsoon season fruit and vegetable crop. 1·5–2 m in horticultural land. The seeds are planted by spreading fertilizer at a distance. Red pumpkins are planted as a mixed crop in the pumpkin crop, separate crops are not usually planted. Fruits begin to appear within two to one months of planting. If the vine is planted on the branches of trees buried in the soil, it will grow vigorously and produce more fruits. There are two varieties namely white long and green tokdi. Varieties with long white fruits are popular. Harvesting of young fruits takes two months. 4,000–5,000 kg per hectare. Fruits and vegetables are available.
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In North India, two types are grown, ‘Jethuya’ in summer and ‘Bar-Masia’ in summer. The Barmasia type bears fruit throughout the year. Nine different varieties are cultivated in South India.
1 ) Traditional usage of Bitter Gourd
In countries like Africa, caraway is used as a herbal medicine.
It is a remedy used in Turkey to treat stomach complaints.
In India, Karela leaves are used to treat diabetes, stomach ache, cough, ulcers, skin diseases, respiratory diseases and gout.
2) Medicinal benefits of Bitter Gourd
A ) Bitter Karela promotes acid secretion and helps improve digestion and hence, it helps treat indigestion and is also essential for fat metabolism.
B ) Fresh Karela juice helps control insulin and thus lowers blood sugar levels. A plant-based biochemical compound i.e. insulin in Karela leaves helps patients with type-1 and type-2 diabetes.
C ) Karela juice helps strengthen the liver and prevents jaundice.
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D ) Karela improves the peristaltic movement of the stomach and prevents gastric problems.
E ) Karela juice has been found to be helpful in treating hangovers by detoxifying and improving the condition of the liver.
F ) Regular consumption of Karela helps lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. As it is rich in potassium, it absorbs unnecessary sodium from the body and keeps blood pressure under control.
G ) Studies have shown that drinking Karela juice regularly increases good cholesterol levels (HDL) while lowering bad cholesterol (LDL).
H ) Applying Karela juice on the scalp can prevent hair fall, discolouration, dandruff and itching.
I ) Karela helps in weight loss. It is a low-calorie fruit and vegetable and scientific literature shows that it helps break down fat cells and also prevents the formation of new fat cells.
J ) Regular consumption of Karela helps boost the immune system. It is a rich source of antioxidants which has a very strong mechanism to prevent or quench the free radicals produced by the body under stress conditions. This shows the anti-cancer behavior of Karela.
K ) Karela helps prevent psoriasis and any fungal infection. It is also useful in treating skin problems like acne, chicken pox etc.
L ) Apart from skin problems it can improve skin radiance, speed up skin healing due to the presence of antioxidants and provitamin A and improve overall skin health.
Source : Wikipediya
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Faq –
1 How does Karela taste ?
2 In which season does the Karela crop come ?
3 What are the medicinal uses of Karela ?
