Find Out Why Okra is More Than OK
By Sara Butler
Okra is very popular in the southern United States, but it’s appreciated in many other parts of the world, too. The people of Africa, the Middle East, and South America know all that okra has to offer. The health benefits of okra are quite extensive – here are a just a few that may encourage you to get a little more of this green pod in your diet.
Health Benefits
The okra you eat is the pod of a flowering plant. It is often picked when it is young and tender. This incredible vegetable is very low in calories, with just 30 calories in a half of a cup. It’s also cholesterol free and saturated fat-free. The pectin contained in okra can also help to lower cholesterol by as much as 10 percent.
Okra has been found to also help stabilize blood sugar because it is slow to be absorbed by your digestive system due to its hefty content of dietary fiber. This makes it a great vegetable choice for people with diabetes. It also happens to be packed with folic acid as well as provide 10 percent of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin B6.
A few other nutritional highlights of okra include
- Calcium
- Antioxidants such as catechin, procyanidin B1, rutin, epicatechin and quercetin
- Vitamin K
- Thiamin
- Niacin
- Magnesium
- Beta carotene
- Manganese
- Zeaxanthin
Other Benefits
Since okra is full of folic acid, it is a great vegetable for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant to include in their diets. The B vitamins also help to maintain new cells created in pregnancy which can help reduce birth defects such as spina bifida.
Some studies have found foods rich in Vitamin C may be of use to people with respiratory ailments such as asthma. In these studies, wheezing symptoms were reduced in people who ate more Vitamin C in their diets – and okra is a great source of Vitamin C!
Vitamin C is also helpful in keeping your skin healthy since it aids in the repair and growth of body tissue. You can even apply boiled, smashed up okra directly to your face to get smoother, glowing skin.
How to Eat It
One of the best things about okra is the variety of ways it can be enjoyed. You can throw it in a pot of gumbo to help as a natural thickening agent or you can eat the pods raw, fried, steamed or in soups and stews.
However you want to enjoy it, add a little okra to your day to reap its health benefits!