Gourds guarding our health!

Different shapes and sizes of gourds exist. They are lovely and stuffed with vital nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

The trailing and climbing vines with triangular-lobed foliage known as gourds are members of the Cucurbitaceae family.

On this vine, there are yellow and white blossoms that open to reveal a fat greenish fruit at the end.

Before they become too ripe, these fruits should be picked when still green on the stem.

You may also plant them in containers, but keep in mind how sprawling they are and make sure to give them extra support with trellises, railings, or fences.

Below are various uses and benefits of gourds.

Sponge Gourd

• The sponge gourd is reputed to have powerful blood-purifying properties. Additionally, it improves liver health and decreases the negative effects of alcohol.
• According to legend, the sponge gourd can help alleviate several ailments and can even lessen arterial blockages.
• Juice from a sponge gourd is also given to those who have jaundice. Its alleged therapeutic benefits are claimed to alleviate jaundice.
• Along with vital elements like vitamin C, zinc, iron, and magnesium, the sponge gourd is high in dietary fibre.
• Because it has less saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories, sponge gourd is supposed to help with weight loss.

How to Eat Gourds:

This high water content gourd can be used in soups and stews or eaten boiling. It can even be stir-fried with tomato gravy and garnished with fresh coriander and green chillies.

Bottle gourd

• The bottle gourd is well known for its ability to chill the body. Drinking a bottle of gourd juice will help you keep hydrated.
• Weight loss is frequently achieved using the bottle gourd. Its high fibre content is thought to keep you feeling full for an extended amount of time.
• Bottle gourd, especially when juiced, can be used to treat urinary tract infections.
• The bottle gourd is also said to be able to alleviate stomach problems. It helps with diarrhoea and constipation.
• Bottle gourd also enhances the health of your heart. It controls heart health and brings down blood cholesterol levels.

How to Eat Gourds:

After removing the gourd’s thin peel and seeds, it can be cooked as a vegetable. The toasted gourd can also be blended with rice, cinnamon, and a little black pepper to create a nutritious smoothie.

Bitter gourd

• The bitter gourd is said to keep blood sugar levels stable. It has polypeptide-p, or p-insulin, which is thought to naturally control diabetes.
• Additionally, bitter gourd is said to be able to aid in lowering dangerous cholesterol levels. The bitter gourd’s juice is also said to have anti-inflammatory properties.
• According to reports, the bitter gourd is good for maintaining healthy skin and hair. Bitter gourd has strong antioxidant properties that help to postpone the start of ageing.
• The bitter gourd is used as a liver detoxifier and hangover remedy. Alcohol intoxication is supposedly treated with bitter gourd juice.
• The bitter gourd is also helpful for losing weight. There is a balance between calories, fat, and carbohydrates. It consequently keeps you fuller for longer.

How to Eat Gourds:

This gourd, as its name suggests, has a bitter taste, yet its tremendous nutritional worth sets it apart. You can stir-fry it after pealing the wafty peel and adding some fragrant spices and herbs.

Ridge gourd

Ridge gourd has lots of advantages.

• It is extraordinarily high in dietary fiber and fortified with all the essential nutrients, including vitamin C, iron, magnesium, thiamine, riboflavin, and others.
• Because it contains little in the way of calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol, ridge gourd is seen as helpful for weight loss.
• The ridge gourd has a lot of cellulose as well as a lot of water. It consequently helps prevent constipation.
• Ridge gourd also contains compounds that reduce blood and urine sugar levels, including alkaloids and peptides that resemble insulin.
• A further advantage of ridge gourd is blood cleansing. It protects against alcohol poisoning and enhances and nourishes the health of the liver.

How to Eat Gourds:

Ridge gourd is used in a variety of culinary preparations. By cooking cubes of ridge gourd with onions, tomatoes, chilli powder, garlic, and salt, you may make a healthy curry.

Snake gourd

• Snake gourd might speed up your weight loss. The snake gourd is calorie- and nutrient-rich.
• In snake gourd, there is hardly any cholesterol present. It is therefore risk-free to eat and is very good for heart health.
• In addition, snake gourd helps the kidneys detoxify. It helps the body’s own excretory system get rid of wastes like kidney stones.
• According to reports, snake gourd has significant digestive system benefits. Given its high fibre content, it aids in preventing constipation, bloating, and other issues.
• Snake gourd is good for your respiratory system. It has a special quality that makes it easy to remove any extra mucus or phlegm from the respiratory tract.

How to Eat Gourds:

In India, snake gourd is a well-known curry ingredient. It is frequently used to make aromatic pickles and delectable stews.

Ash gourd

• The ash gourd has a low calorie, fat, carbohydrate, and protein content. It does, however, contain a lot of fibre and antioxidants that gourd your body against disease and support good health.
• Extracts that are believed to have a number of possible health benefits are produced from the ash gourd’s flesh, skin, and vine. But in this area, more human subjects-based study is required.
• The ash gourd is a useful vegetable. Salads, soups, and stews may all contain it. Additionally, you can use it to make jam, juices, smoothies, ketchup, candied goods, desserts, and baked goods.

How to Eat Gourds:

Ash gourds have tasty, delectable white flesh. It can be used to improve the flavour of pickles, stir-fries, and pickles.

Pointed Gourd

• Intestinal health is enhanced by pointed gourds’ high fibre content. In addition, pointed gourd helps with a number of liver and digestive disorders.
• Inadequate water intake or an overabundance of minerals like iron are the two main causes of constipation. Because the seeds in bitter-pointed gourds aid with face passage, they are recommended as a vegetable for people who from constipation.
• Blood sugar management is aided by the seeds of pointed gourds. As a result, eating pointed gourd is recommended for many people who have diabetes.
• The pointed gourd contains more fiber and less calories. This suggests that it makes you feel full without making you eat too many calories. Thus, the pointed gourd is suggested as a weight-loss food.
• A pointed gourd is also known to purify blood according to Ayurveda. The pointed gourd works wonders to control the body’s Kapha energy. Thus, those who have an imbalance of the dosha Kapha in their body should eat pointed gourd.

How to Eat Gourd:

Typically, parwal is prepared in the form of a filled gravy. It also pairs incredibly nicely with other vegetables. It’s typically used with potatoes. Parwal is also eaten as a soup, stew, or curry in several regions of the nation.

Ivy Gourd

• It has been suggested that eating ivy gourd leaves can assist diabetics manage their blood sugar levels.
• Ivy gourd is said to prevent obesity, as well. Its ability to speed up metabolism and stop fat accumulation is well known.
• The small gourd is said to be advantageous in the Ayurvedic treatment of diabetes. It may improve glucose tolerance while lowering blood sugar levels.
• Little gourds contain a lot of vitamin C, which may be good for the health of your skin. In addition, it might help with allergies and wrinkle reduction.
• Consuming little gourds may help to relieve constipation.

How to Eat Gourd:

We consume the vegetable peel as a delectable side dish with rice and even the bottle gourd plant’s leaves and greens. That is the most responsible way to eat.

Spiny Gourd

• The mildness and calming effects of tinda have a favorable effect on the digestive tract.
• Carotenoids and other antioxidants, which have anti-inflammatory properties, also help lower blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, and other illnesses.
• Tinda is supposed to prevent the growth of cancer. Tinda is a vegetable that is abundant in water and helps to keep your body cool and healthy.
• Due to this vegetable’s high water content, the flow of urine increases, which helps the body remove toxins.
• Additionally, Tinda has a significant amount of fibre, which supports good digestion, reduces stomach acid, and aids in the prevention of constipation.

How to Eat Gourds:

Spine gourd is a great diet meal because it is high in fibre and low in calories. It can also be fried with meat, fish, and vegetables.

Precautions for Eating Gourds

• Pregnant women are allowed to consume cooked gourds as vegetables.

However, it should only be consumed in moderation because eating too much of any food or vegetable might have hazardous effects.

In India, gourds are a common vegetable that is used in a variety of meals and dishes. Despite the gourd’s health benefits, limit your consumption.

Contact your physician or other healthcare professional first.

India regularly eats gourd as a vegetable.

• Elderly people may eat it, but only in moderation. Overeating, however, can have serious negative effects.

When added to foods and dishes in moderation, gourd consumption may be safe for kids.

The safety of gourds or their interactions with other drugs cannot be established with sufficient data at this time.

As a result, you should speak with your doctor about possible food and drug interactions if you are taking any medications. Book an online free consultation from an Ayurvedic professional at Healthmug for more information regarding the uses, side effects, and benefits of gourds.

Regarding the side effects and interactions of a particular medication, they will be better able to advise you.