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Jai Ganesh

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Ash gourd Juice

Ash gourd Juice

Gist

Called the wax gourd, winter gourd, ash pumpkin — the humble vegetable is clawing its way up the popularity charts with all those who want to up their immunity levels.

Winner takes it all

Ash gourd juice is commonly dubbed as weight-loss juice. “Ash gourd juice stands out for its rich dietary fibre content and a low-calorie profile, making it an excellent choice for those aiming to shed a few pounds,” says Sushma PS, chief dietitian, Jindal Naturecure Institute. “The high-water content in ash gourd works superbly for those looking at shedding weight. The high dietary-fibre composition of the juice makes you feel full for a longer period, trimming food cravings and making you stay off binge-eating. These combined benefits contribute to a reduction in overall caloric intake, making ash gourd juice a valuable addition to a weight-conscious diet

Details:

Introduction

The Ash gourd plant is an annual trailing vine. It is scientifically known as Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) and belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It has a unique melon like-fruit that is often eaten for its medicinal and functional properties. Ash gourd plant grows in warm, humid tropical climates and is cultivated in countires of South East Asia, including India, Japan, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, and Taiwan.

Did you know that the ash gourd fruit got its name from the colour of its skin; which is Ash, and the waxy shine on the skin; hence, it is also called Wax Gourd. It is mainly grown in the rainy season and people also call it the Winter melon.  In ancient medicial systems, the Ayurvedic preparation of ash gourd, known as ‘Kushmanda’ in Sanskrit,  was thought to have medicinal properties. The most famous  sweet, ‘Agra ka Petha’, is also prepared using the ripened ash gourd fruit soaked in sugar syrup. There are several other names for ash gourd that you might have heard of; it is named Donggua in (Chinese), Beligo in (Indonesia), White gourd, White pumpkin or Ash pumpkin, etc.

Let’s read more about the beneficial properties and potential uses of this Ayurvedic ash gourd juice. 

Did you know?

* Ash gourd juice is low in calories and can be beneficial for diabetic patients.
* Ash gourd juice does not have an immediate effect on blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes patients.
* Ash gourd juice is often used in traditional medicine for its potential anti-diabetic effects.

Properties of Ash gourd juice:

Ash gourd fruit is a common vegetable that might have nutritional and medicinal properties. The bioactive nutrients might show potential benefits in various chronic diseases.3 The properties of ash gourd juice are:

* It may be a potential prebiotic (produce good bacteria in the stomach)
* It might act as antacid (help acidity)
* It may act as detoxifacient (removes toxins from the body)
* It may have a potential  anti-inflammatory action 
* It may help reduce fever
* It may have anxiolytic effect (relieve anxiety)
* It may have an anticonvulsant effect (help seizures)
* It might be helpful in depression 
* It may act as an antioxidant
* It might help with  blood-glucose lowering
* It might help with  blood-lipid lowering 
* It may have potential antimicrobial and anti-parasitic activity
* It may act as bronchodilator (make breathing easier).

Potential Uses of Ash gourd juice:

Ash gourd might be used as functional food; all parts of the fruit seem to have beneficial properties as seen in certain studies.  However, how helpful these are for humans needs to be seen by larger studies.

The potential uses of ash gourd juice are described as follows: 

1. Potential uses of ash gourd juice for diabetes:
 
Ash gourd juice is low in calories and carbohydrates with no fat content. It might be a great choice for patients with diabetes due to this nutrient profile. The pulp of the fruit might have anti-diabetic properties contributed by various nutrients. When mixed with honey, the dried powder of the peel of the fruit may help lower blood  sugar levels. 

A human study conducted by Majumdar et al. (2010) observed that ash gourd juice helps reduce blood glucose levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. However, more studies are required to present the benefits of ash gourd juice for diabetes.

2. Potential uses of ash gourd juice for weight loss:
 
The various properties of ash gourd juice might help in weight loss management. As we know, ash gourd juice is low in calories and fats and thus it may be beneficial to people who want to lose weight. The lipid-lowering properties and high content of dietary fibre of ash gourd juice might help decrease  serum cholesterol and lipid levels which may help lower body fat. 

A literature review by Waidyarathna et al. (2020) suggests that if you use ground peeled raw ash gourd fruits and seeds with an equal amount of water and some salt, it might be helpful to lose weight quickly. Although this information is insufficient and requires more studies. 

3. Potential uses of ash gourd juice for ulcers:
 
The health benefits of ash gourd juice might positively affect people suffering from peptic ulcers (related to the digestive tract and stomach). Ash gourd juice is prepared by shredding the fruit and mixing it with water. Drinking ash gourd juice on an empty stomach might be helpful in peptic  ulcers; after having the juice, one should avoid having food for at least three hours. As per the Ayurveda medicine system, ash gourd has been referenced to as a valuable medicine for peptic ulcers.  This information is age-old and insufficient; therefore large scale human studies are necessary to confirm these benefits.

4. Potential uses of ash gourd juice for skin:
 
The benefits of ash gourd juice are associated with its skin-benefitting properties. The fruit extract is used to prepare face cream; it might be useful and effective in delaying the deterioration of skin cells with age. A study undertaken by Huang et al. (2004) had  shown that some compounds of the fruit (pulp, peel, seeds) contribute to its antioxidant activity, which may fight ageing-inducing free radicles. It might also decrease oxidative damage and managing the effect of degradation of skin cells. More studies are required to confirm the beneficial effect of ash gourd juice for skin.

5. Other Potential uses of ash gourd juice:
 
* Ash gourd juice may help in food poisoning. It may help in painful urination (dysuria) and relieve pain in the sensitive parts.
* It might help symptoms of common cold, fever, cough, sinusitis, etc.
* Ash gourd juice might help to relieve constipation, inflammation of the stomach and overall might strengthen  the functioning of the digestive system.
* Ash fruit juice is an excellent refreshing drink for various brain-related diseases like seizure and insanity (mental illness).
* Ash gourd might have  antacid activity; it may be useful to maintain the pH of the body and the acid levels in the stomach by managing the acidity built up by certain foods like soft drinks and fried food.
* Ash gourd fruits are may be used as a laxative (helps constipation) and diuretic (increases urine production).
* Mixing fruit pulp with sugar helps in iron deficiency.
* The benefits of ash gourd juice might be enhanced when taken with ghee; it might amplify the speech, voice and overall intelligence of a person.
* The oil prepared from boiling the powder of seeds with coconut oil may be useful for baldness, dandruff and headache.

Although some studies show the benefits of ash gourd juice in various conditions, these pieces of information are insufficient. Therefore, more studies are required to confirm the benefits of ash gourd juice on human health. Hence, you should always consult a doctor before using ash gourd juice for any medical condition. 

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