Karela or bitter gourd, as it's more commonly known all over the world, is one of the most bitter vegetables. It has loads of health benefits, in fact, diabetics are often recommended to drink karela juice as it helps maintain blood sugar levels. Loaded with antioxidants and vitamins, karela juice is also beneficial for your skin and hair. While there are several different ways to include this vegetable in your diet, the best and most effective way to obtain its benefits is through fresh karela juice. In this article, we will tell you about karela juice benefits for skin, hair and health along with how to make karela juice at home. But before moving on to that, let's take a look at a few facts about bitter gourd.
01Did you know?
- Karela contains twice as much calcium as spinach
- It has twice the amount of potassium than banana
- The bitterness can be lessened by adding salt and keeping it aside for 10 minutes
- Bitter gourd contains low calories, fat and carbohydrates which makes it an excellent food for weight loss.
- It curbs hunger and keeps you feeling full, thereby helping in maintaining a healthy weight.
- Karela can lower bad cholesterol in the body, thereby reducing your risk of heart diseases and stroke.
- It is a vegetable-fruit, belonging to the family of Cucurbitaceae veggies.
02Karela juice benefits for skin
By now you have learned why your mom always forced you to eat karela without making a face. But you still can't bring yourself to drink karela juice? Well maybe after learning about all the karela juice benefits for skin, your thoughts will change. While it is important to start using anti-ageing creams from your mid-20s, it is also necessary to start including foods in your diet that offer anti-aging benefits. Did you know karela contains vitamin C, which is an excellent ingredient for skin? It helps fight free radicals that make your look mature. The powerful antioxidants in bitter gourd juice also fight wrinkles and fine lines, thereby delaying the ageing process. Regular consumption of karela juice will also strengthen your skin's protective layer and prevent UV damage, further reducing the signs of premature ageing. Your skin has self-healing properties, that's how cuts, scars and burns get healed with time. Even spots left behind by pimples naturally fade after some time as your skin heals. However, there are certain ingredients and foods that can accelerate this process and karela is one such vegetable. One karela juice benefit is that it helps in smooth flow of blood in the body without forming any clots. When the flow of blood is smooth, wounds heal faster. This also keeps infections at bay. So, if you have scars or spots on your skin, consider drinking fresh karela juice everyday to help correct your skin faster. Those with skin concerns like acne, rashes, psoriasis and eczema can benefit a lot from karela juice. Being a blood purifier, it helps fight skin infections and gives it a healthy glow. Its anti-inflammatory properties control acne and help treat existing ones quickly. Karela juice benefits can also be obtained through topical application. Those with eczema often find relief from itching after applying karela juice on the affected areas. You can try both drinking and applying the juice for best results.
03Karela juice benefits for hair
The bitterness in karela juice has the ability to tackle almost every hair concern. You can consume karela juice as well as apply it to your hair directly to get relief from problems like dandruff, hair loss, itching and premature greying. There are plenty of karela juice benefits for hair, scroll down to see them all. Dandruff is a common problem and probably one of the most embarrassing one too. When dandruff gets severe, the flakes start falling off on the shoulders, and this can lead to a lot of embarrassment. A natural and effective way to deal with this problem is with the help of karela juice. Rubbing karela slices or applying its juice mixed with curd or ripe banana directly onto the scalp can help curb this problem. Leave it on your hair for 10-20 minutes then wash off with lukewarm water. Another karela juice benefit is that it helps treat hair loss. If constant styling and colouring has damaged your tresses and caused severe hair loss, including karela in your diet make all the changes. Apart from drinking karela juice you can also apply it topically by mixing it with some sugar. It will form a hair scrub sort of a paste, gently massage it into your scalp. This will help deep cleanse the scalp and as well as promote blood circulation thereby arresting hair loss and inducing hair growth. Be it skin or hair, the signs of ageing have started appearing as early as mid 20s. And while it's completely fine to flaunt grey hair and embrace the process of ageing, if it bothers you, here's a natural remedy to treat premature greying. After drinking fresh karela juice, save a small amount and apply it on the roots and grey strand, let it dry for 10 minutes. Wash off with warm water and repeat at least once a week for best results.
04Karela juice benefits for health
Now that you have learnt about karela juice benefits for skin and hair, let's now take a look at how this bitter vegetable is beneficial for your health. It offers relief from respiratory conditions like common cold, asthma and cough. Drinking it in the morning will help you feel better sooner. If you are on the journey to get a healthier body and shed off some unhealthy weight, karela juice should be a part of your diet. As mentioned before karela contains low fat, calories and carbohydrates, all these components help in managing a healthy weight as well as prevent you from overeating. Bitter gourd has the ability to curb hunger and keep you feeling full for a long time as it contains 85% of water. Rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A, bitter gourd also helps in preventing eye related problems such as cataracts. Drinking karela juice on a regular basis will strengthen the eye muscles and improve vision too. In fact, it may also help treat dark circles and brighten your eye area. Waking up with a hangover after a night of partying is the worst. This can be cured with the help of karela juice, that's right, a glass of this bitter juice will detoxify your liver and cure your hangover. It strengthens the antioxidant activity activity of the enzymes in the liver, thereby cleansing your bowel and healing the liver. A word of caution on drinking karela juice, while it has many benefits, make sure to drink it in moderation. Excess consumption of this juice may lead to diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Expecting women should also drink it in moderation as it may induce early labour pain. No more than 30ml of karela juice is recommended per day.
05How to make karela juice?
Ingredients:
- 1 large or 2 small karela
- Water or some other juice
- Lemon juice, salt or honey
- Wash the bitter gourd well underwater then cut off the tail and head
- You don't need to peel off the rough edges, just it into 4 halves
- Remove the seeds and slice them into small pieces
- Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend
- Pour over a strainer to filter out the juice. Drink immediately
06FAQs about karela juice
Q. Can we drink karela juice daily?
**A. **Karela juice benefits the body when consumed daily, it is completely safe. However, everything should be done in moderation. Drink not more than one glass a day.
Q. What is the best time to drink karela juice?
**A. **Karela juice can be consumed at any time during the day, however, the best time to drink it is in the morning on an empty stomach for best results.
