VEGETABLES

VEGETARIAN FOOD MUST SUPPLEMENT MEAT AND FISH I wanted to refriend | know the nutritive value of some common vegetables we use here like jack fruit, mango and ash gourd. I was surprised to see the high content of valuable elements like calcium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus etc. in these common items. Bottle gourd or lauki or ghia as we call it in Hindi is really amazing. I feel that there is too much dependence on meat in Western countries. Reducing meat and increasing green vegetables, is a must. I consider eggs as vegetarian diet. 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.