Bottle gourd Juice Benefits Uses And Side Effects
Bottle gourd is one of the healthiest vegetables you can add to your diet. Also known as Lauki, Ghia or Doodhi, this pale green vegetable has been used for ages as a staple in Indian cuisine.
It is an excellent hypoglycemic (reduced blood sugar) and hosts an array of antioxidants that help in maintaining your body function and avoiding diseases. But if you are not a fan of lauki ki sabzi you can still add it to your life in the form of juice. Bottle guard juice provides all the benefits of vegetables packed in a single glass.
The best time to have bottled gourd juice is in the morning. It is important to consume the juice almost immediately after it is prepared, as it oxidizes quite fast.
Some basic facts about Bottle Gourd:
Botanical name: Lagenaria siceraria
Family: Gourd family
Sanskrit name: क्षीरतुम्बी (Kshirtumbi) or अलाबू (Alabu)
Common name: Lauki or kaddu. White-flowered gourd or calabash gourd, bottle gourd, long melon, New Guinea bean, and Tasmania bean.
Native region and geographical distribution: Bottle gourd is known to have originated in Southern Africa. It is grown ie tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
- Bottle gourd juice nutrition facts
- Bottle gourd juice health benefits
- Bottle gourd juice side effects
- Takeaway
Bottle gourd juice nutrition facts
Bottle gourd contains 96% water unit a rich source of vitamins C, K, and calcium. Since it is very high in water content, it is perfect for juice extraction. It is readily available in the market and is very affordable. It is low in fat and helps bring down bad cholesterol levels. Due to these reasons, this antioxidant drink is quite popular among those who are health-conscious.
As per the USDA Nutrient Database, 100 g obottledle gourd juice contains the following nutrients:
Nutrient Value per 100 g
Water 95.4 g
Energy 14 kcal
Protein 0.62 g
Carbohydrate 3.39 g
Fibre 0.5 g
Fat 0.02 g
Minerals
Calcium 26 mg
Iron 0.2 mg
Magnesium 11 mg
Phosphorus 13 mg
Potassium 150 mg
Sodium 2 mg
Zinc 0.7 mg
Vitamins
Vitamin B1 0.029 mg
Vitamin B2 0.022 mg
Vitamin B3 0.32 mg
Vitamin B6 0.04 mg
Vitamin B9 6 µg
Vitamin C 10.1 mg
Fats/Fatty acids
Saturated 0.002 g
Monounsaturated 0.001 g
Polyunsaturated 0.009 g
Bottle gourd juice health benefits
Bottle guard juice is loaded with health-building and healing properties which makes it the perfect addition to your diet. Let us have a look at some of the scientifically proven benefits of bottle-guard juice.
Cools the body: Bottle gourd juice is known to have a cooling effect on the body. It is an excellent choice of drink to prevent dehydration in the warm summer months.
Promotes weight loss: Bottle gourd juice is a low-calorie low-fat addition to your weight loss diet. It detoxifies and hydrates your body, reduces total fat content and reduces oxidative stress thereby promoting weight reduction and preventing obesity.
Benefits for the stomach: Bottle gourd juice soothes your stomach and prevents constipation. It is well-known for improving digestion.
Anti-diabetic: Research evidence indicates that bottle gourd pulp improves pancreatic function in diabetic people, which, in turn, prevents the sudden rise in blood sugar levels. It also reduces the risk of heart complications in the case of diabetes.
Delays ageing: Bottle gourd juice is a repository of antioxidants such as vitamin C. Antioxidants are natural compounds that slow down skin ageing and vitamin C is known to increase skin collagen and keep your skin taut and young.
Prevents Urinary tract infections: Bottle gourd juice has a diuretic action on the body. It helps flush out toxins and pathogens thereby reducing the risk of urinary tract infection. Drinking bottled gourd juice may also help improve UTI symptoms.
- Bottle gourd for heart health
- Other benefits of bottled gourd juice
- Bottle of gourd juice cools the body
- Bottle gourd juice for skin
- Bottle gourd juice for weight loss
- Bottle gourd juice for the immune system
- Bottle gourd juice for the gastrointestinal system
- Bottle gourd juice for diabetes
- Bottle gourd juice reduces inflammation
- Bottle gourd juice for urinary tract infections
Bottle gourd for heart health
Bottle gourd juice helps to keep our hearts healthy. The amount of zinc present in this juice has been found to reduce the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol while increasing HDL or good cholesterol. Along with its antioxidant properties, it helps to prevent the arteries from getting blocked by plaque. Thus the risk of cardiovascular disease is minimized. Furthermore, zinc also helps in maintaining blood pressure levels to optimum, leading to lesser pressure on the heart.
The antioxidants also improve heart function by reducing oxidative stress and free radical damage.
Other benefits of bottled gourd juice
Apart from the above-mentioned health benefits, bottled gourd juice has some other healing benefits too. Here is a list of additional ways that bottle gourd can help your body and health.
Bottle gourd juice acts as an antidote for poisoning that results from the sting of a scorpion.
It is a tonic for people suffering from asthma, cough, and bronchitis.
The juice extracted from the leaves of bottle gourd helps in curing jaundice.
It keeps us hydrated and reduces stress.
The minerals present in bottled gourd juice such as magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese etc. help in keeping the bones strong.
It protects us from getting a migraine.
It is an effective remedy for toothache.
It helps to prevent worm infections.
Prevents premature greying of hair.
Bottle gourd juice cools the body
Bottle gourd has a very high water content thus It can keep your body hydrated during summer. Also, bottled gourd juice has a cooling effect on our bodies. It cools your stomach and reduces the heat from the body.
While it can’t replace water, it can certainly provide you respite on a hot summer noon. Blend a glass of bottle-guard juice for yourself and beat the heat like a pro.
Bottle gourd juice for skin
Bottle gourd juice is rich in vitamin C which can help reduce the wrinkles and dryness of the skin. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties which can lower the oxidative damage associated due to stress, pollution, and poor diet. Free radicals speed up the process of ageing and consuming food rich in vitamin C can help slow down this process.
Further, vitamin C plays a crucial role in the synthesis of collagen, the protein responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of your skin. Taking a bottled gourd juice helps you reach your daily recommended dosage of vitamin C faster which alleviates the risk of skin loosening and fine lines.
You can also be a bit more creative and put some bottled gourd juice on your face to give that the topical supply of vitamin C.
Bottle gourd juice for weight loss
Bottle gourd juice is highly promoted for its weight loss benefits and is said to aid in trimming down those extra inches quickly. Unfortunately, there is no scientific research to back this claim. Still, bottle gourd does have some characteristics which may be helpful in obesity prevention or an add-on to your weight loss regime.
First, it is low in fat and very high in water. So, it won’t hamper your low-fat diet or add more fat when you are looking for cutting down on fatty foods.
Second, it is a good source of vitamin C which helps reduce total fat content in the body and promotes weight loss.
Studies indicate that free radical accumulation and oxidative stress may be the causative factor of obesity along with being one of the side effects of being overweight. The antioxidants present in this juice scavenge these free radicals, thereby preventing obesity and its adverse effects.
Finally, it also helps eliminate toxins from the blood which improves metabolism and promotes weight loss.
Bottle gourd juice for the immune system
Bottle gourd has been found to possess an immunostimulatory effect on the body. It increases the number of WBC and other immune system cells, making a strong guard for our body. Made from whole bottle gourds, bottle gourd juice certainly inherits these properties. This may be due to the presence of Vitamin C which helps enhance the immune system and prevents pathogenic microbes from entering our body.
It also acts as an antioxidant and prevents damage to white blood cells. Along with other antioxidants present in bottled gourd juice, it helps strengthen the immune system by preventing the detrimental effects of stress and free radicals.
Bottle gourd juice for the gastrointestinal system
Traditionally, bottled gourd juice is considered to be very good for promoting digestion and relieving constipation. This could be because this juice has some amount of fibre and a lot of water. While fibre provides bulk to your food, water content helps in cleaning our digestive tract. Together, these facilitate easy bowel movements.
Further, constipation is considered to be one of the causative factors for piles. By ensuring regular bowel movements bottled gourd juice helps reduce excess pressure on your gut thereby reducing the risk of haemorrhoids.
Bottle gourd juice for diabetes
Having bottled gourd juice regularly is very beneficial for diabetic patients and also those who are at high risk for this disease. Preclinical studies report that bottle gourd pulp prevents the sudden rise in the blood sugar level and helps improve pancreatic cell function, which is usually impaired in diabetics.
Not only this but bottled gourd juice may also help reduce cardiovascular damage and the risk of heart disease in diabetic people. This is because of the presence of zinc in bottled gourd juice which works actively in maintaining blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.
Bottle gourd juice reduces inflammation
Inflammation is our body’s normal response against infection and injury. However, systemic or long-term inflammation could point to an underlying disease. Some of the common inflammatory diseases include arthritis, rheumatism, and inflammatory bowel disease. These are characterised by swelling, redness and pain and are a cause of major discomfort. The good news is that having a glass of bottled gourd juice can help you get relief from both pain and inflammation. Animal studies suggest that consuming bottled gourd juice significantly reduces inflammation and pain, without showing any side effects. Though the exact mode of action was not defined in this study.
The presence of antioxidants such as vitamin C in this juice may be one factor responsible for the anti-inflammatory property. It has an antioxidant compound which causes a reduction in inflammation by reducing oxidative stress.
Bottle gourd juice for urinary tract infections
Drinking bottled gourd juice regularly reduces the chance of getting urinary tract infections. It also helps in treating it. Bottle gourd is a diuretic which means the frequency of urination in our system increases. As a result, excess water and toxins are flushed out of the body. Apart from this, the antioxidants such as vitamin C present in the body help prevent oxidative damage happening to our kidneys.
Bottle gourd juice side effects
Bottle gourd juice is toxic when bitter
Bottle gourd juice is very beneficial for a healthy body. But research has proved that if your bottle of gourd juice is bitter, consuming it could be highly toxic to your body and may cause even death. It may also cause various side effects such as diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, discomfort, or any feeling of uneasiness. So it is essential to check the taste of the juice before consuming it. Seek immediate medical help if you notice any of the above-mentioned side effects.
Gastrointestinal problems
Consuming bitter bottle gourd juice can lead to various problems such as duodenitis (inflammation in the duodenum), gastric erosions (damage to stomach mucosa), gastric ulcers, and esophagitis (inflammation in the food pipe). It leads to bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal region when a bitter bottle of gourd juice is consumed.
Other side effects:
Drinking excessive bottled gourd juice may lead to Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Bottle gourd juice may lead to allergic reactions in a few individuals.
Takeaway
Bottle gourd is very good for a healthy body and mind. It has various health benefits. Including juice in your diet can bring about a positive change, keeping you healthy. However, precprecautionsuld be taken while drinking this juice. This juice can be harmful as it possesses certain compounds that a human body may not be able to withstand. It is best to make this juice at home but if you are buying bottled gourd juice, it is important that you look for organic bottled gourd and also avoid mixing this juice with other vegetable juices. It is not safe to drink this juice if it is bitter.