BITTER LEAF – VERNONIA AMYGDALINA.
This is a very popular plant in Nigeria and in South America. It grows everywhere in the tropics and it is a homely plant. Its Botanical name is VERNONIA AMYGDALINA. The Igbo calls it ONUGBO, the Yoruba calls it EWURO and the Hausa calls it SHIWAKA……it has others names in other dialects in Nigeria. Bitter leaf is used mostly is as a vegetable in Igbo land for the delicious ONUGBO Soup, while the Yoruba’s use it more as a medicine. The fact is that bitter herbs are good for the body. Bitter herbs help to tone the vital organs of the body, especially the kidney and the liver. Bitter leaves should always be taken fresh. Nigerians eat a lot of bitter leaf, but they often squeeze out the bitter extract from the leaves before eating it. What is left then is mere chaff, with little or no medicinal value. That bitter extract or juice is the main medicinal element of the leaf. Here are some of the health benefits of juicing your bitter leaf:
• Improves digestion
• Internal cleansing
• Helps with diabetes – it reduces sugar level drastically
• A great remedy for stomach ache
• Stimulates the gut wall’s self-repair mechanism
• Increases energy levels
• Fights fatigue and exhaustion
• Calms the nerves and strengthens muscles
• Nourishes the skin • Soothes Arthritis
• Combats Insomnia
• Helps sooth pile
• Relieves fever and feverish conditions. Bitter leaf is readily found everywhere. This is obviously one of the very simple, inexpensive natural herbs you can use to ensure your optimum health and well-being! Top five Health Benefit of Bitter Life
1. It lowers the risk of breast cancer- , According to research publications in Feb, 2004 edition of Experimental Biology and medicine biter leaf consumption lowers the risk of breast cancer. 2. Lowers cholesterol- Experiment conducted during a study with animals shows that bitter leaf extract decreased bad cholesterol by nearly half and increased good cholesterol. No studies yet on how it will effect human body cholesterol.
3. Lymphatic cleans – It helps the body protect against health dangers of cigarette smoke and other harmful smokes like Okada, cars and industrial smokes .
4. It contains essential fatty acids that the body does not produce – linocenic and linoleic acid. A study published in the American Journal of clinical Nutrition states that large consumption of the two acids, brings people at the lowest risk of developing cardiovascular diseases when compared to those who did not.
5. High Antioxidants – It has antioxidant properties that help fight diseases.
