Health Wonders of Bitter Leaf

Bitter leaf is a common plant in tropical Africa and it is used mostly for food and medicinal purposes. Among the numerous properties the leaves contain, it is the bitter taste that is of enormous health benefits. Many herbal and medicinal experts copiously testify to this fact.

Bitter leaf is very cheap and easy to obtain. It is easy to grow around dwellings and local gardens particularly in rural areas. It is ingested either by chewing the stem or juicing the leaf to drink. Many families use it as leafy vegetable in local soups.

Among its numerous health benefits are:

It Soothes Body Itching: Bitter leaf juice when rubbed in the itching spots and left to dry off, it soothes the itching and gives relief. 

Helps to Treat Malaria: Bitter leaf comes in very handy to treat malaria which is a very common ailment in tropical climates particularly Africa and the Caribbean. Boiling some of the leaves in a few cups of water helps to juice it. Drinking that juice about three times a day helps to provide relief from malaria.

Helps to Improve Appetite: If you lose your appetite for food, bitter leaf can help. By simply chewing the stem of bitter leaf, there is a tendency to regain your appetite within a few minutes, and you will feel like eating again.
 

Helps to Cure Measles: In many rural dwellings in tropical Africa, women turn to bitter leaf to treat their children when they are afflicted with measles. They squeeze out the juice from the leaves then make a paste of it with palm oil. This they rub on the afflicted children’s skins and left for awhile before bathing the children.

Helps to Cure Ear Inflammation: By squeezing some quantity of bitter leaf you can get out some of the bitter juice. Applying some three drops of the juice into the affected ear helps to provide relief from inflammation. For quick results, you can repeat the process four or five times a day. 

Treatment of toothache: You can boil about 15g of bitter leaf in three cups of water. Taking ½ cup of the boiled juice two or times a day helps relieve toothaches. 

Treatment of Diabetes: There is research evidence that the bitterness in bitter leaf has the ability to lower blood glucose. If you pour boiled water in fresh bitter leaves, just allow it to cool down for some minutes. Take at least one cup of the bitter juice therefrom after meals at least twice a day. It helps to lower the blood glucose of diabetics. 

Helps to treat Typhoid: Bitter leaf has been found to contain properties which help to check disease-causing bacteria in the body. That is why it can be used to treat typhoid.  You can boil about 10-15 leaves of bitter leaf in water. Allow it to be cool then filter it. You may choose to add honey to improve the taste of the boiled juice then drink a cup of it about three times a day.

Helps to Treat Diarrhea: If you boil dried bitter leaf in three cups of water then filter it, you can drink ½ cup twice a day. It helps provide relief from diarrhea.

Cancer Prevention: It has been found that bitter leaf contains properties that can stop tumor growth in the body. Regular consumption of the juice from bitter leaf helps the body to develop a strong immune system which resists tumor growth in the body.

Helps to Reduce Hypertension: Suppression of sodium with potassium in the blood helps to reduce hypertension. It is a known fact that bitter leaf contains a high amount of potassium which helps to reduce the sodium in the blood. Lowering the sodium in the blood helps reduce hypertension.