GOURDS

TINDA /INDIAN ROUND GOURD/APPLE GOURD 

This unique squash-like gourd is native to India, very popular in Indian cooking with curry and many gourmet dishes. Green colored, apple sized fruits are flattish round in shape

A water-rich vegetable, it keeps your body cool and healthy,. Some research indicates it is also very good for healthy skin and hair.

Round gourd is regarded as super food for its numerous health benefits. It contains antioxidants like carotenoids and many anti-inflammatory agents, which help controlling blood pressure, heart diseases, and strokes and prevents cancer formation. It is very mild and soothing vegetable for intestinal tract. It contains a lot of fiber and a water-rich vegetable, it keeps your body cool and healthy, that helps in digestion relieves stomach acidity and prevents constipation and diarrhea. It also increases the urinary flow and excretes toxins from the kidney and is very effective in prevention of prostate cancer. 

It is a low calorie diet vegetable and a good source of Vitamin A.

Teasle Gourd, Kantola or Spiny Gourd

Teasle gourd or Kantola belongs to the bitter gourd family but is not as bitter in taste even with the skin on.

Health Benefits

It is a rich source of phytonutrients and low in calories only 17 cal per 100g. They are full of different nutrients like dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.

• Reduces blood sugar level in diabetic patients.
• Reduces the chances of cancer and is anti-aging 
• Improves digestion
• helps in prevention of various eye diseases,
• helps in prevention of cardiovascular diseases
• a very good antioxidant and promotes cleansing of the body.

Sponge Gourd or Chinese Okra

One of the healthiest green vegetables is Sponge Gourd also known as lufa. Lufa is basically a fruit but consumed as vegetable. To make it edible, one needs to harvest it at early stage of development. The fully developed gourd is used as the scrubbing sponge in bathrooms and kitchens.

These gourds are sometimes arrow straight sometimes curved in shape. The fruit has ridge lines that run across the fruit skin.

Sponge gourd possess many healing and medicinal properties and is quite useful in asthma, skin diseases and splenetic enlargement. Researchers discovered that its regular consumption is helpful for rheumatism, backache, internal hemorrhage, chest pains as well as hemorrhoids.

Benefits

• It acts as a Blood Purifier
• Helps Prevent Diabetes
• Prevents Indigestion
• Helps in Weight Loss
• Helps to cure Jaundice

Health benefits:

Some of the most important health benefits of snake gourd include its ability to improve the strength of the immune system, reduce fevers, detoxify the body, improve the digestive processes of the body, increase hydration in the body, treat diabetes, boost the strength and quality of the hair, and aid in weight loss.

Nutritional Value of Snake Gourd:

Snake Gourd contains a rich variety of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for human health, including significant levels of dietary fiber, a small number of calories, and high levels of protein. In terms of vitamins, snake gourd possess vitamin A, B, C, as well as manganese,magnesium, calcium,iron, potassium, and iodine.

RIDGE GOURD, LUFFA, SPONGE GOURD, CHINESE OKRA OR TURIA

Ridge Gourd is a dark green, tapering and ridged vegetable. In contrast to its dark green exterior ridge gourd has white spongy pulp inside in white are embedded white seeds. Ridge gourd benefits is low in cholesterol and saturated fats but high in vitamin C, dietary fiber, riboflavin, thiamine, zinc, iron, manganese and magnesium. Ridge gourd nutrition value makes it appropriate for weight loss plans.

• Ridge Gourd benefits to reduce hyperacidity
• Benefits in weight loss as ridge gourd is low in calories
• Ridge Gourd is very good for diabetics
• Premature graying of hairs can be prevented with ridge gourd
• To reduce body and foot odor use ridge gourd regularly
• Ridge Gourd may serve as a highly effective alleviation towards the constipation problems
• Ridge gourd acts to boost the liver health
• serves to decrease the side results of alcohol intoxication.
• may even be utilized to cure piles disease

Coccinia grandis, Ivy Gourd, Kundru: A Miraculous Vegetable

Coccinia grandis, the ivy gourd, also known as baby watermelon, little gourd, gentleman's toes, tindora, or (misleadingly) gherkin is grown for its edible young shoots and edible fruits.

Nutritional Value:

Apart from their delightful taste Ivy gourd is a good source of nutrients, vitamins and mineral. Consuming 100 gram of ivy gourd supplies, 1.4mg of Iron, 0/08mg of Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), 0.07 mg of Vitamin B1(Thiamine), 1.6g of Total dietary fiber and 40 mg of Calcium. Ivy Gourd will provide you with the best 10 health benefits that you can enjoy by including this vegetable in your daily diet.

1. Protects the nervous system
2. Promotes metabolism in the body
3. Might prevent cancer
4. Helps in normalizing blood sugar levels
5. Prevents kidney stone
6. Promotes heart health
7. Strengthens bones
8. Promotes better immunity
9. Promotes digestive health
10. Might help in treating depression

Apart from the above, ivy gourd can also be helpful in treating iron deficiency related anemia due to its iron content. It is also useful for weight management, as it provide nourishment and satiation without adding much to the total calorie intake. It has anti-histamine qualities which support the use of this vegetable as topical treatment to cure skin irritations and allergies. In ayurveda, ivy gourd is also used in preparing medications for anorexia and coughing.

BOTTLE GOURD, LAUKI, WHITE-FLOWERED GOURD OR CALABASH GOURD

Bottle Gourd has many health benefits and also helps in weight loss. The excessive water content in the vegetable makes it a most preferred and widely used summer vegetable.

Here are five reasons to embrace Bottle Gourd or Lauki whole-heartedly in your daily diet:

1. Great for Weight Loss –
2. Helps Treat Urinary Disorders
3. Good for Your Heart
4. Beats Insomnia and Helps You Sleep Easy
5. Helps Stocking up Loss of Water Content in Your Body

Pointed Gourd/ Parwal

Pointed gourd is rich in Vitamin A, B1, B6, C, antioxidants, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, dietary fibers and many other health nutrients. There are multiple benefits of Pointed gourd; some of them are listed below:- It is helpful to solve problems related to gastrointestinal disease. It aids in digestion by its light nature and liver detoxification. The seeds of pointed gourd treat blood sugar and cholesterol problems in a very eased way. It makes your salivary tubules active and aids in anorexia. It is good for skin and hairs too. It acts as a blood purifier and clarifies your skin texture.

Health Benefits of Pointed Gourd

• Improve Digestion
• Skin Benefits
• Weight Loss
• Blood Purifier
• Lowers Cholesterol & Blood Sugar

BITTER MELON, BITTER GOURD, BITTER SQUASH, BALSAM-PEAR OR KARELA

Bitter melon comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The cultivar common to China is 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) long, oblong with bluntly tapering ends and pale green in color, with a gently undulating, warty surface. The bitter melon more typical ofIndia has a narrower shape with pointed ends, and a surface covered with jagged, triangular "teeth" and ridges. It is green to white in color. Between these two extremes are any number of intermediate forms. Some bear miniature fruit of only 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) in length, which may be served individually as stuffed vegetables. These miniature fruit are popular in Bangladesh, India (common name 'Karela'), Pakistan, Nepal and other countries in South Asia.

Health benefit 1: Combats Diabetes
Health Benefit 2: Anti-cancer Properties
Health Benefit 3: Combats HIV Causing AIDs
Health Benefit 4: Antioxidant Properties
Health Benefit 6: Skin Health
Health Benefit 7: Digestive Health
Health Benefit 8: Weight Management
Health Benefit 9: Promotes Healing
Health Benefit 10: Prevents Constipation
Health Benefit 11: Treats Blood Disorders
Health Benefit 12: Energy Boost
Health Benefit 13:Eye Health
Health benefit 14: Relieves Gout
Health Benefit 15: Treats Piles