Bitter gourd benefits for health, skin and hair.

Bitter gourd  is a tropical plant that grows in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. It is also known as balsam pear. This annual of the Cucurbitaceae family is a thin, climbing vine with long, stalked leaves that flowers in July or August. The plant bears a long, cucumber-shaped fruit that hangs like a pendulum, with small bumps all over it. The plant, which is green when it is young and yellowish-orange when it is ripe, fruits around September or October. All parts of the plant—the seeds, leaves and vines—are used for medicinal purposes, but the actual fruit of the bitter melon is most commonly used.

Health Benefits Of Bitter Gourd:

1. Weight Loss

Bitter gourd contains antioxidants that help to flush out your system. This improves your metabolism and digestive systems, thus helping you lose weight quickly. The two other major factors that aid in weight loss are the calorie control and filling components. Calorie control happens as such because vegetables are low in calories that allows you to consume more quantities of them. The filling component in this vegetable is water. We know that water is a universal suppressant of hunger. The pods of this vegetable contain on the whole 80-85% water 

2. Purifies Blood

The antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of bitter gourd juice help to treat skin problems, blood disorders, clear toxins from the blood and purify it, and further improves blood circulation throughout the body. It helps to cure issues like itching caused by toxaemia, rashes, acne, psoriasis, blood boils and even inhibits the growth of cancerous cells in the body.

3. Respiratory Disorders

The fresh pods are an excellent remedy for curing respiratory problems like asthma, cold, cough, etc. Also, the paste of bitter melon leaves, along with the paste of tulsi leaves, when taken with honey in the morning, is a good remedy.

Skin Benefits Of Bitter Gourd

1.Prevents Skin Problems

The regular consumption of bitter gourd helps in keeping your skin glowing and free from blemishes. It also helps prevent acne thanks to its blood purifying properties.

2.Skin Infections

Bitter gourd benefits in treating skin diseases or skin infections, eczema and psoriasis. The regular consumption of bitter gourd juice helps in improving psoriasis as well as other fungal infections like ringworm and athlete’s foot.

3.Anti-Aging

Bitter gourd contains vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant . By fighting and eliminating the harmful free radicals, it helps to prevent wrinkles by slowing down the aging process. It also protects the skin from damage by the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

Hair Benefits Of Bitter gourd

1. Shiny Hair

To impart a natural shine to your hair, you can mix a cup of fresh bitter gourd juice with yoghurt and apply on your hair. Wash off after sometime. This will make your hair shiny and beautiful.

2. Dandruff

Dandruff is a common problem and is mostly caused due to the consumption of unhealthy food and exposure to pollution. To ward off dandruff, you can prepare a hair pack by mixing bitter gourd juice and cumin seeds. Regular usage of this pack will rid you of dandruff within a month.

3. Split Ends

If you are troubled by split ends, you can apply raw bitter gourd juice to your split ends and then comb gently. This should be done twice a week to get rid of split ends.