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Health See other Health Articles Title: Benefits of bottle gourd Not very familiar to the western world, bottle gourd is one of the favorite vegetables in Indian cuisine. Known by various names, the bottle gourd is yellowish-green in color and usually in the shape of a bottle. The vegetable has a white pulp, with white seeds embedded in the spongy flesh. It is also known as bottle squash, white gourd, trumpet gourd, lauki, doodhi, ghia and calabash gourd. Bottle gourd is cultivated in the humid weather of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, tropical Africa and South America. Though the vegetable is quite bland and tasteless, it has many nutrition benefits. Read on further to know the nutritional value of bottle gourd, along with the health benefits of eating it. Nutritional Value of Calabash Gourd Amount of Black Calabash Gourd: ½ cup Total Weight of Black Calabash Gourd: 58 g Nutrients Amount Basic Components Protein 0.4 g Carbohydrate 2 g Water 55.4 g Ash 0.2 g Total Omega-6 Fatty Acids 5.2 mg Calories Total Calories 8.1 Calories From Carbohydrate 7.1 Calories From Fat 0.1 Calories From Protein 0.9 Vitamins Vitamin A 9.3 IU Vitamin C 5.9 mg Niacin 0.2 mg Folate 3.5 mcg Pantothenic Acid 0.1 mg Minerals Calcium 15.1 mg Iron 0.1 mg Magnesium 6.4 mg Phosphorus 7.5 mg Potassium 87 mg Sodium 1.2 mg Zinc 0.4 mg Selenium 0.1 mcg Nutrition & Health Benefits Of Eating Bottle Gourds * High in sodium and potassium, bottle gourd is an excellent vegetable for hypertension patients. * It is a suitable vegetable for light, low-cal diets as well as for children, people with digestive problems, diabetics and convalescents. * High in water content, calabash gourd is cooling, calming, diuretic and easy to digest when cooked. * The vegetable is very effective in treating constipation and other digestive disorders. * It helps in treating urinary disorders, since it serves as an alkaline mixture for treating burning sensation in urinary passage, caused by high acidity of urine. * Bottle gourd is recommended by ayurvedic physicians for balancing the liver function, when the liver is inflamed and cannot efficiently process food for maximum nutrition and assimilation. * Drinking a glass of bottle gourd juice once in the early morning helps in treating grey hair. * Mixing the juice with sesame oil provides an effective medicine for insomnia. Massage the scalp with this preparation every night. * Bottle gourd juice is very helpful in treating insanity, epilepsy, stomach acidity, indigestion, ulcers and other nervous diseases. * The bitter variety of calabash gourd is considered as a cardiac tonic, an antidote for poisoning and a tonic for alleviating bronchitis, cough, asthma, and biligenic affections. * A glass of bottle gourd juice, mixed with a little salt, helps in preventing excessive loss of sodium from the body. It quenches thirst, prevents fatigue and keeps one refreshed during summers. * The juice extracted from the leaves of bottle gourd is beneficial in jaundice. * Bottle gourd juice is also very useful for shedding extra calories and maintaining optimum health. Cooking Tips * Grate a bottle gourd and squeeze out the juice. Mix it with a teaspoonful of lime juice and include in your daily diet. * Julienne a bottle gourd and steam it lightly. Add it to a bowl of yoghurt, along with a pinch of salt. * Due to its delicate and nutty flavor, calabash gourd is used for preparing many delectable recipes, including hot curries. * The vegetable is used as a stir-fry or in the soup in the southern Chinese cuisine.
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