India is considered a rich country in terms of fruits and vegetables. Here you will see myriad types of vegetarian food as compared to non-veg, but due to lack of information people are not able to enjoy all delicious vegetables. If you are also a foodie and want to include healthy foods in your diet, then this article can prove beneficial for you. In this article, you will know about the amazing health benefits of drumstick, its nutrition profile, side-effects and how you can use it to grab its maximum benefits.
WHAT IS MORINGA LEAVES?
Drumstick is a type of legume, which is used as a vegetable. Its botanical name is Moringa Oleifera. You may be surprised to know that India is the largest producer of moringa, its annual production here is 1.1 to 1.3 million tons. Drumstick tree grows very fast and along with its beans, its leaves and flowers are also used for food. These three parts of drumstick are very beneficial.
DRUMSTICK NUTRITION PROFILE:
According to Food Data Central, per 100 gram serving of raw drumstick pod contains:
- Water: 88.2 gram
- Energy: 37 kcal
- Protein: 2.1 gram
- Carbohydrate: 8.53 gram
- Fiber: 3.2 gram
- Calcium: 30 mg
- Iron: 0.36 mg
- Magnesium: 45 mg
- Phosphorus: 50 mg
- Potassium: 461 mg
- Sodium: 42 mg
- Zinc: 0.45 mg
- Copper: 0.084 mg
- Manganese: 0.259 mg
- Vitamin A: 74 IU
- Vitamin C: 141 mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.12 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Thiamin: 0.053 mg
- Riboflavin: 0.074 mg
- Niacin: 0.62 mg
- Folate: 44 µg
- Fatty acids, total saturated: 0.033 gram
- Fatty acids, total monounsaturated: 0.102 gram
- Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated: 0.003 gram
HEALTH BENEFITS OF MORINGA (DRUMSTICK):
Drumstick has a wide range of benefits for health. Some of them are:
1. In Weight Loss:
If you are troubled by the problem of obesity or increasing weight, then you can get relief to a great extent. By including drumstick leaves in the list of green vegetables, you can control the problem of increasing weight. Actually, it contains chlorogenic acid, which has anti-obesity properties, which can help fight obesity or weight problems. You can include it in your diet as a healthful food.
2. In Diabetes:
The benefits of drumstick can also be seen here. Drumstick beans, bark and other parts have anti-diabetic properties, which may prove to be beneficial for diabetes and can help reduce the level of diabetes. If you do not like to eat drumstick, then you can also take a tablet of drumstick leaves on the advice of a doctor, as it also has anti-diabetic properties.
3. Drumstick for Healthy Bones:
With the increasing age, it is also important to take care of bones and keep them healthy. You can consume drumstick to keep your bones healthy. Moringa is considered a good source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, which are essential nutrients for bones. Due to the presence of these properties, drumstick can help in keeping bones healthy. For now, more research is still needed on this.
In addition, it also has anti-osteoporotic properties, which may help reduce the risk of bone disease like osteoporosis.
4. To Keep the Heart Healthy:
The heart is one of the most important organs of the body. In such a situation, it is important to keep the heart healthy and take care of it. If you want to keep your heart healthy, then include drumstick leaves in your diet.
Drumstick leaves are rich in antioxidants, which help in relieving problems caused by inflammation in the body and heart problems are one of them. In addition, beta-carotene present in drumstick leaves may help keep the heart healthy by acting as an antioxidant.
5. Drumstick for Healthy Brain:
Drumstick can also help in keeping the brain healthy. Aging can also have an effect on the brain and can lead to brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, central nervous system disorder, and many more. In such a situation, the consumption of drumstick can be very beneficial. It can act as a nootropic (a drug for brain health), which can help relieve neurological problems. It may also be helpful in sharpening or improving memory in Alzheimer’s patients.
6. In Cancer:
The benefits of drumstick can also be seen here. The medicinal properties present in drumstick can help reduce the risk of dangerous diseases including cancer. Actually, drumstick bark and leaves have anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties.
In addition, drumstick leaves are rich in polyphenols and polyflavonoids, which are antioxidant and anti-cancer compounds, which may help reduce the risk of this fatal disease.
7. Drumstick for Liver:
Wrong eating habits and poor lifestyle can have a bad effect on the liver. In such a situation, it is necessary to improve your eating habits as well as include the right food in your diet.
Drumstick leaves can be included in the diet along with other foods. It contains flavanols called Quercetin, which act as hepato-protective, and can help protect the liver by protecting it from any kind of damage.
8. In Anemia:
Talking about the properties of drumstick, its bark or leaves can also be consumed to prevent anemia (deficiency of red blood cells in the blood). Ethanolic extract of drumstick leaves has anti-anemia properties and consumption may improve hemoglobin levels, which may help in the production of red blood cells.
9. For Stomach:
Consumption of drumstick or drumstick leaves can prevent many stomach related problems such as stomach pain and ulcers. It has anti-ulcer properties, due to which its consumption can prevent the risk of ulcers.
At the same time, we have already given you information above that it can also provide relief from liver problems. Not only this, its bark is also useful for the stomach, it can help in improving digestion.
10. Drumsticks for Better Immunity:
If a person’s immunity is weak, then that person’s risk of getting sick may also increase. In such a situation, it is important to include those foods in your diet, which help in improving immunity.
One of these foods is drumstick. Immunity can be improved by consuming drumstick leaves. Its balanced intake can improve immunity. But, keep in mind that it contains toxic substances called isothiocyanate and glycoside cyanides and if consumed in excess, it can increase stress and reduce its antioxidant effect. Therefore, it is better to consume it in limited quantities.
11. For Skin:
Not only health, but it is necessary to keep the skin healthy as well. Your skin also gives signals about your good and bad health. If there is no glow in the skin, it means that your skin is not healthy. In such a situation, by consuming drumstick or drumstick leaves, you can make your skin healthy.
The antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties present in drumstick can protect against the risk of skin rashes, skin infections or other skin related diseases.
12. Anti-Aging Effect:
The effect of aging also starts appearing on the face, as a result, the glow of the face starts decreasing and wrinkles start increasing. In such a situation, many of you must have also resorted to anti-aging lotions or creams, whose effect lasts only for some time. For this reason, it needs to be used over and over again.
In this situation, it is better that you choose your diet carefully, because somewhere your diet affects your skin and face. You can include drumstick or its leaves in your diet. Its consumption can help reduce the effects of aging on your face. Not only this, its seeds can also help reduce the effects of aging on the skin at a young age.
HOW TO USE MORINGA LEAVES:
Drumsticks can be used in many ways; including:
- You can use drumstick as a vegetable.
- You can also chop drumstick and use it in soups.
- You can make a vegetable of drumstick leaves or you can also use it in sambhar.
- You can also take a tablet of drumstick leaves with medical advice.
- Drumstick leaves and flowers can be dried and powdered and used in salads, soups and vegetables.
SIDE EFFECTS OF MORINGA LEAVES:
Some of the health side-effects of moringa may include:
- Drumstick beans and leaves can be consumed in moderation in pregnancy, however, consumption of its bark can lead to miscarriage. In such a situation, it is better to take expert opinion before its consumption.
- Drumstick leaves can help in relieving the problem of high blood pressure, but keep in mind that those who have problems with low blood pressure should not consume it. This can cause low blood pressure problems.
- Its consumption can provide relief in diabetes, but excessive consumption can also cause excessive decrease in blood glucose levels, which can be dangerous.
TAKE AWAY
Now, you must have come to know about the benefits of drumstick. In addition, you’ve also learned about the nutrition profile and side-effects of drumstick. If you have not included drumstick in your diet yet, then hope that after knowing the benefits of drumstick above, you will definitely include it in your diet.
If you have any question or suggestions, please leave in the comment box below.
REFERENCES:
- AESA based IPM – Drumstick; Department of Agriculture and Cooperation; Ministry of Agriculture; Government of India.
- Anti-Anemia Effect of Standardized Extract of Moringa Oleifera Lamk. Leaves on Aniline Induced Rats; Abdul Mun’im, Meidi Utami Puteri and Azizahwati A.
- Drumstick pods, raw; Food Data Central.
- Moringa oleifera: A food plant with multiple medicinal uses; Farooq Anwar, Sajid Latif and Muhammad Ashraf; Recharge Gate.
- Moringa oleifera as an Anti-Cancer Agent against Breast and Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines; Abdulrahman Khazim Al-Asmari, Sulaiman Mansour Albalawi, Md Tanwir Athar, PMCID: PMC4545797. PMID: 26288313.
- Bioactive Components in Moringa Oleifera Leaves Protect against Chronic Disease; Marcela Vergara-Jimenez, Manal Mused Almatrafi and Maria Luz Fernandez; PMCID: PMC5745501. PMID: 29144438.
- The In Vitro and In Vivo Anticancer Properties of Moringa oleifera; Kang Zi Khor, Vuanghao Lim, Emmanuel J. Moses and Nozlena Abdul Samad; PMCID: PMC6261394. PMID: 30538753.
- Anti diabetic property of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) leaf tablets; V.Veeranan Arun GIRIDHARI, D. MALATHI and K. GEETHA; International Journal of Health Nutrition.
- Effect Of Moringa Oleifera On Bone Density In Post-Menopausal Women; Jason M. Brown.
- Powder microscopy of bark–poison used for abortion: moringa pterygosperma gaertn; J Bhattacharya, G Guha, B Bhattacharya; PMID: 12262404.
- Moringa oleifera leaf extract lowers high blood pressure by alleviating vascular dysfunction and decreasing oxidative stress in L-NAME hypertensive rats; Direk Aekthammarat, Patchareewan Pannangpetch, Panot Tangsucharit; PMID: 30668387.
- The anti-osteoporotic effect of Moringa oliefera on osteoblastic cells: SaOS 2; C. Patel, Ayaz Y. Rangrez, P. Parikh;
- IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences.
- Moringa Genus: A Review of Phytochemistry and Pharmacology; Nur Zahirah Abd Rani, Khairana Husain and Endang Kumolosasi; PMCID: PMC5820334. PMID: 29503616.
- IMMUNOMODULATORY ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC LEAF EXTRACT OF MORINGA OLEIFERA IN ANIMALS; SUDHA P., SYED MOHAMMED BASHEERUDDIN ASDAQ; Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2010.
- Ayurveda for Obesity; Vikaspedia.
- Health Benefits of Moringa oleifera; Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis, Muhammad Din Ibrahim and Saie Brindha Kntayya.
- The role of nutrients in bone health, from A to Z; Cristina Palacios; PMID: 17092827.
- Supplementations on Pregnant Women and the Potential of Moringa Oleifera Supplement to Prevent Adverse Pregnancy Outcome; Muhammad Syafruddin Nurdin, Andi Imam Arundhana Thahir and Veni Hadju; International Journal of Science and Healthcare Research; Vol.3; Issue: 1; Jan.-March 2018; ISSN: 2455-7587.