Okra - beneficial properties and contraindications

Okra is an amazing exotic plant that produces green oblong pods that look like peppers. Culture has many names - gombo, ladies' fingers, abelmosh, okra. In fact, it is a vegetable that has a specific taste. Someone compares okra with beans, someone tastes like eggplant, zucchini and even asparagus. Okra is widespread in Africa, Southern Europe, Asia, America. In Russia, okra can be found in the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, there are small plantations, from where vegetables spread throughout the country. Delicate taste of okra allows you to use it in various culinary masterpieces - the vegetable is stewed and served as a side dish for meat or fish. Okra can be cooked with cereals or other vegetables, the pods are often pickled and added to salads.

 Useful properties and contraindications of okra

Okra grows very quickly, grown pods should be cut off in a timely manner, otherwise they will mature, become wiry and tough.At the same time, fresh okra is stored for long, just a few days. For this reason, people try to keep the pods for a long time - they canned or frozen vegetables. This is done in order to enjoy in the winter the delicate taste of the green pod and receive from it only the most valuable and useful. After all, the composition of okra is amazing - there is a huge amount of ascorbic acid and other vitamins. Okra is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, organic acids, mineral salts. In the seeds there is a special oil that makes the product look like olives. Okra has a peculiar slimy structure - this mucus envelops the walls of the stomach and allows you to cope with many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Than the okra is still useful, we will try to understand.

The beneficial properties of okra for humans

In the literature there is a mention of okra. In one of his works, the famous science fiction writer Harry Harrison talked about a spacecraft, all of whose crew members were fed solely on okra. This allowed the heroes to survive and maintain health. Indeed, okra is unique, it has many useful substances that have a positive effect on the human body, especially with regular use of the product.

  1. When pregnancy. The composition of okra is folic acid - this is one of the most important vitamins for a pregnant woman. When the future mommy learns about her situation, she will certainly have to drink folic acid separately or introduce foods rich in this substance into her diet. Folic acid helps the fetus to properly form, reduces the risk of developing pathologies of the nervous system of the baby.
  2. With diabetes. Slime, which is rich in okra pods, is a natural regulator of blood sugar levels. Okra is certainly recommended to introduce diabetics into the diet.
  3. For the digestive tract. As noted, the mucus in the composition of the pod, falling on the walls of the stomach, gently envelops the mucous membrane, relieves inflammation, soothes, relieves pain. Okra has a similar effect with a decoction of oatmeal. Such dishes are very effective in diseases of the stomach - they do not irritate the mucous. And okra is good for the intestines - enter the vegetable in the diet and you forget what constipation and bloating are, okra provides an increase in the number of good bacteria.
  4. When losing weight. Okra is not just a useful medicine, but also an incredibly tasty vegetable, which has a soft and delicate structure.At the same time its caloric content is very small - only 25-30 calories and per 100 grams of product. Okra allows you to get enough of a small amount of food, it gives the body vitamins and trace elements, which are so lacking with a limited diet. And okra has a mild diuretic effect, which means that you can get rid of excess water in the body, swelling in your legs and arms, bags under your eyes will gradually go away. Okra cleans the body from toxins and slags, removes excess bile. This purification is especially important in the first stage of weight loss, so that the body gets rid of extra pounds without problems.
  5. For potency. African tribes necessarily introduced okra to young men as the best way to improve potency. Okra is a mandatory attribute in wedding celebrations, as a symbol of male fertility. Eat okra to gain masculine power and sexual stamina.
  6. To restore vitality. And okra is also an excellent immunostimulant that can be used both during and after illness for recuperation. And if you take okra all the time - this is an excellent prevention of colds.Okra must be given to children after infections, old people, women after childbirth and lactation. Vegetable protects the body from disease, gives vitality and leads to tone.
  7. Against cough. The pods and seeds of okra have an excellent expectorant effect, one should prepare a decoction and drink as often as possible. It dilutes the sputum, removes it from the lungs, allows you to quickly get rid of the cough of any nature. Regular consumption of okra will help reduce the number of asthmatic attacks and make them less intense and dangerous.
  8. For vessels and capillaries. According to statistics, people whose diet is rich in okra, much less likely to suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system. Regular consumption of vegetables strengthens the walls of blood vessels, makes them more elastic and mobile, reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood, fights against atherosclerosis.

In addition, okra reduces the risk of developing cancer, especially bowel cancer. Vegetable is so diverse that you should not think about its beneficial properties - there are so many of them. But is okra safe?

Contraindications to the use of okra

 Contraindications to the use of okra
After learning about the incredible benefits of the product, many people begin to consume it in large quantities, making a mistake. An overabundance of many healthy fruits and vegetables can lead to unpleasant consequences. But not with okra! You can eat green pods as much as you want, there is no harm in vegetables. The only thing you need to know about the method of preparation of the product. On the surface of okra there are small hairs that can be aggressive to the stomach and skin. Therefore, during the preparation of the vegetable, all small villi should be cleaned with a stiff sponge or just a clean cloth. Processing is best done with gloves, hairs that fall on the skin, often cause itching, redness and burning. And further. If you consume okra for the first time, start with small portions - watch your body. Like any other product, okra can cause an allergic reaction.

How to cook okra?

If this amazing vegetable came into your hands, wrap it in a newspaper or food paper and put it in the fridge so that you can save the pods for several days.And it is better to cook okra at once - there can be many options for dishes from the product.

  1. Garnish. Pour some oil into a dry frying pan, fry onions and garlic. Okra needs to be prepared - cut the stalk so that the seeds do not open. Be sure to rinse the pods and clean them from the villi. Clean okra is sent to the pan to the onion and garlic. The product extinguishes not for long - about 15 minutes. So that the okra is not boiled soft and not broken, try not to disturb the dish too often. Before readiness, add garnish with salt and pepper, if desired, add chopped tomato and lemon juice. Serving cold or hot is the perfect combination to any meat or fish product.
  2. Marinated okra. Marinating okra is not difficult - just like cucumbers. At the bottom of the jar, greens are laid to taste, garlic, a couple of black peppercorns, and okra pods are laid tightly on top. Pour boiling water, leave to sterilize for 5 minutes, repeat the procedure twice. For the third time, sugar, salt and vinegar are added to the water. On a liter of water about a dessert spoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and the same amount of vinegar. To make the okra crispy, you can add a little alcohol or vodka to the pickle.When the brine boils, the third time the banks are poured and rolled with sterilized lids. Such a delicacy will surprise your guests.
  3. Okra with meat. Meat should be cut into pieces, fry in a pan. If the meat is hard, it is additionally filled with water and stewed for about half an hour. Okra should be prepared and rinsed. Usually the vegetables are stewed as a whole, too large pods can be cut in half. Okra has a special mucus. If you want the dish to be viscous, add okra directly to the meat and simmer another 20-30 minutes. If you want to get the dish in slices, separately stew the pods to get rid of the slimy mass, and only then mix the ingredients. Before readiness, garlic, spices, tomato flesh, and parsley are added to the dish.

And still the okra is frozen - the prepared pods are laid out on a flat surface, and after freezing they are removed in bags or containers. In winter, you can add the right amount of vegetables in the dishes. The overripe okra fruits become dark, hard and fibrous - they are rarely eaten. But on the other hand, coffee is prepared from overripe pods — the grains are dried, roasted, and the flavored beverage is brewed.

Okra is a wonderful plant, which has a high yield.In warm climates, pods should be harvested every 3-5 days. Okra shrubs are very unpretentious, although they do not tolerate cold and frost. If you live in a warm strip, you will certainly put okra in your summer cottage - this is the personification of health and well-being!

Video: useful properties and growing okra

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