Health Benefits Of Waterleaf. Waterleaf is one of the most medicinal and nutritious vegetables in Nigeria. It is usually underestimated and undervalued because it is seen as a wild plant that grows everywhere all year round.

It is called ‘Gbure’ by the Yoruba people and is also called ‘Mgbolodi’ in Igbo and ‘Ebe London’ in Edo.

People from Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom call it mmomoikong (waterleaf). I think its more popular with ibibio and efik, they use it in almost all their soups especially Afang ,Edikaikong and Editan. Waterleaf can also be used for smoothie or made into juice. Both Waterleaf smoothie and waterleaf juice has numerous health benefits.

Waterleaf can also be taken as a vegetable, dried herbs and also as juice(as said above).
Waterleaf Botanical name :Talinum triangulare

Waterleaves are generally good and beneficial to human health. This vegetable contains lots of water and nutrients such as minerals, vitamins, crude fiber, lipids, crude protein, and others which make them nutritious and medicinal in several ways.

The uses are versatile for culinary purposes, and they are used to prepare waterleaf soup, waterleaf stew or sauce, yam, salad, and more.

Below are some of the health benefits of waterleaf

1. It Helps in Digestion

Waterleaves are an excellent vegetable that is 100% healthy for the body even when consumed with the stem, which helps reduce constipation and aid in the proper digestion of food.

Problems with indigestion seem to alleviate when waterleaf is eaten and helps to soften the stool, but when eaten in excess can cause a little stomach discomfort.

2. It Supports the Liver

Liver diseases remain a major cause of death all over the World. Scientists examined the impact of the methanol extract of Talinum triangulare on the liver and blood, they found out that the leaves are effective for treating liver diseases. It lowers the concentration of the enzymes in the blood.

3. It Enhances Cognitive Ability

Regular consumption of this vegetable affects cognitive ability because of certain constituents, which help improve cerebral blood flow and cognitive function.

And due to its ability to improve the flow of blood, it helps the brain function adequately by supplying it with adequate oxygen to prevent/improve Cerebral Hypoperfusion, Schizophrenia, and the death of the brain tissues.

The presence of iron, a micronutrient found in waterleaf, also helps strengthen the brain muscles and tissues, which helps improve the human brain, thereby improving cognitive reasoning.

4. It’s Good for Weightloss

It serves as a weight loss diet due to the amount of fiber content in it. But it should be taken regularly either used in a salad or steamed to a certain temperature.

The fiber content makes the stomach fuller, thereby eliminating the chances of craving more food. Its water content also helps in this case, making it one of the vegetables to be added to our daily meals for proper weight management.

As much as it helps to improve weight, we have to also eat healthy at all times for the effectiveness of this nutrient. Health Benefits Of Waterleaf

5. It Repairs Body Tissues

They are a good source of vitamins such as A and C, which help repair the body tissues and promote good eye vision.

One of the main functions of vitamin C is to help in normal body tissue repair and growth. It acts as an antioxidant as it prevents oxidative stress caused by free radicals from damaging the body cells and tissues.

It makes the skin smoother, prevents dryness, and helps firm and improve skin pigment.

6. It Promotes Eye Health

Vegetables are essential for overall health, including the eye, as they mostly contain vitamin A, which functions to improve eye health.

Waterleaf contains vitamin A, which helps to enhance vision in poor light and helps improve the skeletal tissue and the skin due to its content of vitamin A1 as known as Retinol.

Vitamin A can help provide the eye with the necessary nutrients it needs to prevent some eye-related conditions like cataracts, macular degeneration, and more. Therefore, the intake of waterleaf in the right amount will result in a healthy eye.

Waterleaf also contains vitamin C, which helps maintain a healthy eye by preventing the retina from damage caused by free radicals and other health conditions that affect the eyes, like dry eyes, conjunctival hemorrhages, and even cataracts.

7. For Strong Bones and Teeth

The presence of calcium in this vegetable helps maintain strong bones and teeth, in general, gives support to the body’s skeletal structure, and improves skeletal function.

Calcium is vital in the formation of bones in the body. The content of this mineral in waterleaf makes it one of the foods suitable for those who have bone conditions such as osteoporosis, fracture, and more, as it can help in its improvement.

8. It Eliminates Infections & Diseases

Contain certain properties such as antibacterial properties, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties that help suppress the growth of bacteria, fungi, and inflammatory diseases in the body.

It has been proven effective for the treatment of some diseases like Atherosclerosis, which results in the arteries in the body are accumulated with fats and cholesterols, thereby making the artery walls narrow.

It makes the blood flow interrupted and can even cause a total blockage in the artery, leading to many health conditions like stroke, heart attack, and more.

Waterleaf consumption has been locally used to treat and prevent this health condition; for more effective results, the leaf should be washed and properly squeezed to extract the juice, which has to be taken orally.

There is no measurement for the quantity of waterleaf juice to be taken, but it should be moderate.

9. It Promotes Heart Health

Waterleaves, when consumed daily, perform a key role in maintaining the cardiovascular system.

It helps to keep the heart healthy by regulating the heart’s activities and reducing the risk of related heart diseases and stroke by adequately supply of blood and oxygen to the needed areas.

It also helps reduce the cholesterol levels in the blood, which is good for the prevention and improvement of heart-related conditions.

10. It Boosts Fertility

Waterleaf is widely believed to boost both male and female fertility… It increases blood flow to the sexual organs, improves libido, serves as an aphrodisiac, and boosts ovulation in women.

11. It Improves the Blood Cells

The crude protein in waterleaf is an important supplement from a quality and nutritional perspective, playing a significant role in the human blood cell.

Its functions when it comes to blood cells in the body can’t be overemphasized. It is believed to help in the adequate pumping of blood and its supply and is used in many cases, such as in the treatment of anemia.

It generally helps improve the blood cells, which includes both the white and red blood cells, and the content of iron helps in this case.

12. It Improves Blood Clotting

Waterleaf has a great effect on the blood, making it one of the vegetables that have to be incorporated into our daily meals due to its effectiveness.

It helps improve blood clotting and prevents new ones from forming, just like a thrombus that might form in one of the blood vessels interfering with blood flow.

Though a thrombus can be termed healthy when it stops bleeding on injuries by making the blood form a clot, it can be termed unhealthy when the clot formation tends to block the blood vessels.

Therefore, the intake of waterleaf in whatever form can help prevent such occurrences and even help improve existing ones due to their anti-inflammatory properties and others.

13. Medicinal Uses

Waterleaves have been used in many ways serving diverse ranges of medicinal purposes. In this case, its juice, stem, leaves, and roots are all considered effective as they have proven successful in treating measles.

Arthritis reduces blood sugar and blood pressure. It can also treat insomnia, anemia, and malaria. It is also used in the treatment of diarrhea, improving weakness, and more.

In conclusion, Waterleaf should not be underrated, as it has many health benefits which it has to offer when we consume it adequately. Its richness in many vitamins and minerals makes it one of the vegetables we should add to our daily meals for an effective result.

The main concern when it comes to eating too much waterleaf stems from its oxalate content. Too much oxalate can be unhealthy for individuals with kidney disease. As such, those individuals should refrain from consuming raw waterleaf. Cooked waterleaf has approximately 50 percent less soluble oxalate than its raw counterpart.

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