10 benefits of okra for body health that you should not miss

When shopping at the supermarket, have you ever seen a type of plant that looks strange because it is rarely found? The shape and color are similar to oyong (squash gourd), but slightly longer and tapered at the end. This plant is called okra. Although not as famous as kale or spinach, okra is often processed into a delicious dish in several restaurants. The reason is because it turns out that there are a myriad of benefits of okra that make it good for consumption. Indeed, what are the benefits of okra?

What is okra?

Source: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

At first glance, the appearance of this fruit resembles a large green chili or vegetable oyong which has fine hairs on the surface of the skin. Even so, in fact okra or okro does not belong to the vegetable family. Okra is not a vegetable because it has whole grains in it.

Okra is a pod-shaped pod that is produced from a flowering plant called Abelmoschus esculentus. Okro is covered with hair because in fact it is still included in the shrub or cotton-cotton family (Malvaceae). The parent plant of okra is still related to the kapok tree, cacao tree (cocoa), tobacco, and hibiscus flowers.

The original habitat of okro is still being debated today. Many historians and plant experts argue that plants A. esculentus first discovered around the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt in 1216. Over time, these hairy pods are cultivated to West Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean Islands, and North America.

In English speaking countries, okra has another name lady's finger because the shape is tapering like the fingers of a woman's hand. In Indonesia itself, sometimes these green "vegetables" are called bendi. Vegetable bendi is actually red and green. However, it is the green-colored bendi that is the most commonly processed and easily found on the market.

What is the nutritional content of okra?

Source: Farm Fresh to You

According to the National Nutrient Database of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), nutrients per 100 grams (gr) of okra include 33 calories, nearly 8 grams of carbohydrates, about 2 grams of protein, and 3.2 grams of fiber.

Vegetable bendi is also enriched with a number of important micronutrients, such as:

• 36 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin A.
• 0.215 milligram (mg) of vitamin B6
• 23 mg of vitamin C
• 31.3 mg of vitamin K
• 200 mg of potassium
• 7 mg sodium
• 57 mg magnesium
• 82 mg calcium
• 60 mcg of folate
• Small amounts of iron, phosphorus and copper.

Interestingly, okra is a plant-based food source that is rich in antioxidants, including oligomeric catechins, flavonoid derivatives, and phenolics. All three have good antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.

What are the health benefits of okra?

Just like eating vegetables and fruit, eating okra also offers a variety of health benefits. Here are the various benefits of okra to support your body's health:

1. Relieves asthma

Okra is believed to help control asthma because its antioxidants and vitamin C are quite high. Summarizing various studies, vitamin C deficiency causes cells and tissues, including the lungs, to be prone to chronic inflammation.

A study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that people with asthma who were deficient in vitamin C were more likely to experience recurrent symptoms. This means that meeting daily vitamin C needs can help control asthma.

In addition, foods high in antioxidants can also help prevent tissue damage caused by asthma. This is also proven by research published in the journal Thorax. Regularly eating foods high in vitamin C can reduce the symptoms of wheezing that are often experienced by people with asthma.

Uniquely, you can still feel these benefits if you only eat food sources of vitamin C 1-2 times a week.

2. Smooth digestion

Launching a study published in the International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, okra is high in fiber, especially insoluble fiber.

Insoluble fiber helps increase stool weight while also lightening its "passage" through the intestines until it is finally excreted. Eating a diet high in insoluble fiber regularly helps cleanse the intestines, allowing them to work more effectively. If the intestines are more efficient at channeling leftovers, you are less likely to suffer from constipation and diarrhea.

However, that was not all. In fact, the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial content in these pods can also prevent you from stomach ulcers and intestinal irritations (irritable bowel syndrome / IBS), and other digestive problems. The long-term bowel cleansing effect of fiber intake also lowers the risk of colon cancer.

In addition, vitamin A plays a role in maintaining the health of the mucous membranes that line the inner walls of the digestive organs. This can help the entire digestive system function properly. Moreover, the polysaccharides in okra mucus are effective in shedding the H. pylori bacteria that causes ulcers that are firmly attached to the intestines.

3. Lowering cholesterol

If you have high cholesterol, you certainly have to be very careful about what you eat every day. One-one, cholesterol can increase and increase the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure.

Well, okra is one food source that has the potential to both lower cholesterol. According to a study published in the Global Journal of Medical Research, polysaccharides in okra mucus can lower cholesterol levels because of its ability to bind to bile acids that carry toxins from the liver.

The study also stated that the oil from okra seeds has the same potential to lower cholesterol in the blood. Okra seeds are a rich source of linoleic (omega-3) fatty acids. Adequate intake of omega-3s helps increase good cholesterol (HDL) levels while preventing the build-up of fatty plaques in blood vessels, under the skin, and which are deposited in the liver.

In addition, okro is high in insoluble fiber. Launching from the Harvard Health Publishing page, fiber is an important dietary component for lowering cholesterol. Okra fiber works to regulate the rate of absorption of sugar from the intestines, which then normalizes blood cholesterol levels.

4. Heart healthy

Apart from being high in insoluble fiber, bendi vegetables are also quite high in soluble fiber. Especially in shape gum and pectin. Both types of fiber help lower serum cholesterol in the blood, which reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Pectin can help lower cholesterol simply by changing the way bile is made in the intestines. Bile will work more efficiently to absorb more fat from leftover food in the intestine. Cholesterol and excess fat will eventually be excreted along with other food waste products in the form of feces.

Interestingly, fiber can also slow the progression of heart disease in people who already have it.

5. Lowering blood sugar

Okra is high in fiber which helps stabilize blood sugar by slowing down the rate at which glucose is absorbed from the intestines. This theory is also supported by findings from a study published by the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences. The study shows, the more okra fiber is consumed, the more stable blood sugar levels tend to be.

One other study published in 2011 in the journal ISRN Pharmaceutics also reported that okra was just as good for lowering blood sugar levels for people with diabetes.

Even so, this achievement is still influenced by various other healthy lifestyle factors.

6. Increase endurance

Another benefit of okra is that it can help boost the immune system. This is related to the high amount of vitamin C and antioxidants in okra.

Vitamin C can stimulate the production of white blood cells which are an important component in the immune system. While the content of antioxidants plays an important role in destroying all free radicals that can weaken the immune system.

7. Prevent kidney disorders

Eating okra regularly has been shown to prevent kidney problems, especially in people with diabetes.

What's more, regular intake of okra can help avoid kidney disease as a complication of diabetes. Launching a study published in the Global Journal of Medical Research, diabetics who eat okra every day show less kidney damage than those who don't.

This is potentially beneficial because nearly 50% of cases of kidney disease are caused by diabetes.

8. Good for pregnant women

If you are pregnant, it doesn't hurt to try to eat these vegetables to maintain the health of you and your fetus. Okra is high in vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, zinc, and calcium, which are especially needed for the growth process of the fetus in the womb.

More than that, okra is also rich in folic acid which is good for supporting fetal brain development, preventing birth defects, and facilitating bowel movements. On the other hand, low folate levels can lead to one or more pregnancy problems at a later date.

That is one of the main reasons why getting enough folate is so important for women before and during pregnancy. Even after pregnancy until breastfeeding.

9. Reducing the risk of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is prone to be experienced by people who have entered old age.

That is why it is recommended that you eat foods rich in vitamin K because it is good for maintaining bone function. Vegetable okra, for example. The content of vitamin K in this vegetable will help speed up the absorption of calcium by the bones.

Therefore, people who routinely have adequate daily sources of vitamin K usually tend to have a stronger bone composition. Finally, this person will indirectly avoid the risk of bone loss.

10. Prevent cancer

Okra contains a number of proteins in it, one of which is in the form of lectins. Lectins are a type of protein that the body tends to be difficult to digest. This type of protein has the potential to kill cancer cells and stop their development.

Eating okra helps slow the growth of cancer cells by up to 63 percent, as well as kills about 72 percent of the cancer cells that have grown.

However, further research is still needed to determine whether okra really has a positive effect on healing cancer.

Important tips before processing okra

Source: Kitchme

When chopped and cooked, these vegetables will release a little mucus. You can wipe off some of the mucus, but it's best not to rinse it off. Given the above explanation of okra's benefits, most of its potential goodness comes from mucus. Honey, right, if you don't even get the benefits?

In addition, pay attention to how to select and store vegetables so that they are delicious when processed. Here are some things you should know:

• If you want a crispy and tender bendi, try choosing medium size okra or not too big or small. The large vegetables are usually overripe so they are a little tough.
• Choose okra with a hard texture and firm to the touch. Avoid choosing those that tend to be soft or mushy, because this indicates that the vegetables are no longer fresh.
• If you don't want to cook it immediately after buying it, don't wash the greens and store them dry in a plastic bag. Washing them and storing them can actually make them damp, which in turn speeds up mucus build-up.
• Another way to store it is to freeze the okra, thus preventing it from rotting or discoloring.
• Avoid chopping okra if you don't want to cook it right away. This will actually cause the edges to darken when left in the open air for too long.
• The mucus produced by this bendi vegetable can be used as a thick sauce to add flavor to dishes.

For those of you who don't really like the mucus or sap of the bendi, you can cook the whole vegetable without chopping it first. The goal is to avoid the production of mucus when cooked.

Are there any health risks from eating okra?

Consumption of okra within safe limits will certainly provide a number of nutrients and various health benefits for the body. However, don't let you eat it excessively. Instead of offering good benefits, eating too much bendi vegetables can actually lead to health problems, such as:

• Kidney stones. Vegetable bendi contains oxalate, which is calcium which causes kidney stones.
• Digestive problems. Vegetable bendi contains a certain amount of fructans, which is a type of carbohydrate usually found in vegetables and whole grains. Excessive intake of fructans can cause diarrhea, gas buildup in the stomach, stomach cramps, and flatulence in people with intestinal disorders. The condition can be worse in people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Because usually tend to be more sensitive to foods that contain lots of fructants.
• Arthritis. Okra contains solanine compounds, which are toxic chemicals that cause joint pain, arthritis, and long-term inflammation for people who are sensitive to this ingredient.

After seeing the good and the bad side, of course you can draw conclusions about this spiky vegetable. In order to get its good benefits, it would be nice to eat okra in sufficient quantities so as not to pose a bad risk in the future.

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