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Health benefits of Moringa
Moringa plant possesses unique nutritional qualities that hold promise to millions of impoverished communities around the world those lack in many nutritional supplements such as protein, minerals, and vitamins.
leaves are an excellent source of protein that can be rarely found in any other herbs and green leafy vegetables. 100 g of fresh raw leaves provide 9.8 g of protein or about 17.5% of daily-required levels. Dry, powdered leaves indeed are a much-concentrated source of many quality amino acids.
Fresh pods and seeds are a good source of oleic acid, a health-benefiting monounsaturated fat. Moringa as high-quality oilseed crop can be grown alternatively to improve nutrition levels of populations in many drought-prone regions of Africa and Asia.
Fresh leaves and growing tips of moringa are the richest source of vitamin A. 100 g of fresh leaves 7564 IU or 252% of daily-required levels. Vitamin A is one of the fat-soluble anti-oxidant offering several benefits, including mucus membrane repair, maintenance of skin integrity, vision, and immunity.
Fresh moringa pods and leaves are excellent sources of vitamin-C. 100 g of pods contain 145 µg or 235% of daily-required levels of vitamin C. 100 g of greens provide 51.7 µg or 86% of daily-recommended intake values of this vitamin. Research studies have shown that consumption of fruits/vegetables rich in vitamin C helps the body develop immunity against infectious agents, and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals from the body.
The greens as well as pods also contain good amounts of many vital B-complex vitamins such as folates, vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and niacin. Much of these vitamin functions as co-enzymes in carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism.
Furthermore, its leaves are one of the fine sources of minerals like calcium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, selenium, and magnesium. Iron alleviates anemia. Calcium is required for bone strengthening. Zinc plays a vital role in hair-growth, spermatogenesis, and skin health.