Moringa oleifera is the scientific name of drumstick tree or sahjan as it's called in Hindi. Its leaves known as moringa leaves have been recently crowned as a superfood. It has seven times more vitamin C than oranges and fifteen times more potassium than bananas.
The bitter-sweet leaves is a treasure trove of protein, iron, amino acids, and calcium. In India, both the leaves and the fruit of the moringa tree are used in various culinary preparations.
The antioxidant-rich leaves are also used to prepare moringa tea, which has weight loss, anti-diabetic and anti-hypertensive benefits. It's believed that the moringa leaf can cure more than three hundred diseases.
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While that may be an exaggeration, the benefits of moringa aren't. Here's why.
Health Benefits of Moringa
Moringa oleifera is considered a multi-purpose herbal plant that functions as food and as medicine. It has numerous health benefits for a variety of chronic and acute health conditions.
Moringa leaves contain essential amino acids, carotenoids and many other nutraceutical properties. Rich in vitamins and minerals, almost all parts of moringa can be used for nutrition and therapeutics.
Moringa leaves contains many important nutrients like protein, riboflavin, iron, vitamin B6, vitamin C. Moringa leaf powder increases the blood antioxidant levels. It lowers blood sugar levels. They boost immune health and also protect against cell damage.
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Here are some of its features.
Good for diabetes: One of the best effects of moringa is against blood glucose. Regularly consuming moringa can improve insulin sensitivity, increase total antioxidant capacity and improve immune tolerance.
Antimicrobial: Extracts of moringa from its seeds, steam, leaves, fruit and bark has strong antibacterial potential. It has an antibiotic component pterygospermin that has powerful antibacterial and fungicidal effects. Moringa is effective against many harmful pathogens that cause infectious diseases in the body.
Fights inflammation: If you have inflammatory conditions like chronic pain, migraine or endometriosis, you can benefit a lot from moringa. Long term inflammation leads to autoimmune diseases, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, sepsis, colitis and arthritis. Consuming moringa can help prevent these health conditions.
Benefits liver: A healthy liver is the cornerstone of good health. If the liver is down, the body gets ravaged by toxins that go unfiltered in the bloodstream. Regularly consuming moringa can keep the liver health in check by preventing liver damage and fibrosis
Can protect against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's: Moringa has neuroprotective properties in the form of antioxidants and nootropics. These nutrients in moringa can fight neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Has anti-cancer properties: The extracts of the leaves and bark of moringa have been shown to inhibit the growth of breast, pancreatic and colorectal cancer cells.
Other key benefits of moringa are:
- Improves digestion
- Has anti-ageing properties
- Good for eyes
- Good for hair growth
- Benefits kidney health
- Strengthens immune system
Nutrition values of Moringa
100gm of moringa has the following nutritional composition.
Nutritional Fact
| Measure%(DV)
|
Calories
| 37
|
Fat
| 0%
|
Cholesterol
| 0%
|
Iron
| 0%
|
Protein
| 2.1%
|
Fiber
| 3.2%
|
Calcium
| 3%
|
Vitamin C
| 0%
|
Magnesium
| 0%
|
Vitamin B12
| 0%
|
Sodium
| 42mg
|
Vitamin A
| 1%
|
Fat
| 0.2g
|
Carbohydrates
| 9g
|
How to make moringa tea
Eating the leaves and fruit of moringa oleifera is without a doubt the best way to reap its many benefits. However, the most convenient way is moringa tea. Fresh leaves and fruit may not be always available, especially outside India.
Dried moringa powder can be bought to brew moringa tea, which is a good substitute to regular black or green tea.
Like green tea, moringa tea is a bitter brew with a deep, woody fragrance.
To make a cup of moringa tea, fresh leaves can be steeped in hot water, strained and consumed. Dried leaves can be added to boiling water and brewed like regular tea.
Alternatively, a teaspoon of moringa powder can be whisked with a little water till the lumps disappear and mixed with hot water for a cup of moringa tea.
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