Everything You Need To Know About Indian Gooseberry

Indian gooseberry feels like a commonly heard term, right? If not, then it’s time to know about it more. If you are sick of hair fall, rough hair, or low immunity, you should definitely try some natural ways to eliminate these problems. And Indian gooseberry is the perfect solution for you.

It has hundreds of medicinal and culinary benefits. Amla fruit is the most common ingredient for Ayurveda medicines. This fruit has a very high number of vitamin C content, and it has a very rich number of potent antioxidants and has other benefits. Many of the health benefits are related to hair health, and people are using it for a very long time. Many take it in the form of dried amla berry powder, and some use it as a vegetable. I have a very important thing to share with you; eating an Indian gooseberry is equal to having thirty oranges in terms of vitamin C content. Indian gooseberry is a classified superfruit as it has several nutritional benefits. 

So let’s understand everything in a very comprehensive way.  

What Is Indian Gooseberry?

Indian gooseberry has two different scientific names- Emblica Officinalis and Phyllanthus Emblica. And in India, people call it Amla. Its trees are not too big and have yellow-green flowers and finally have round fruits. Its fruits are the only edible part of the plant. The amla or Indian gooseberry is around the size of a golf ball. One can peel it and divide it into small portions. The taste of Amla can be described as bitter, sour, and astringent. However, this fruit is commonly used in India for cooking. You might see some supplements of Indian gooseberry; those are the powdered dry Amla. Other supplements can also be made of fruit extracts. Whenever you are on a trip to India, you must try out their special Indian gooseberry pickle. 

Benefits of Indian gooseberry

As we earlier discussed, Indian gooseberry has hundreds of benefits for the human body and was being used for a very long time in Ayurveda medicines. Here are some of the most important benefits of Indian gooseberry or Amla.

Heartburn

Amla is very beneficial for people who are suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease. In high-quality research, around 70 people who were suffering from gastro-oesophageal reflux disease were given 1000 milligram Amla or Indian gooseberry tablets per day. The results of this study were positive as people started feeling better after four weeks of daily Amla doses. The researchers also stated that there were less frequency and severity of vomiting and heartburn after this four-week course of Amla. Some of the scientists say that this one study is not enough to say that Indian gooseberry is helpful for gastroesophageal reflux disease. So, more high-quality researches are needed for better results. 

Anti-aging

Any fruit that contains vitamin C in a large quantity has anti-aging benefits. Indian gooseberries have lots of vitamin C in it, so Amla can be useful for anti-aging. Aging occurs because in the human body, cells degenerate every day, and with the age factor, the cells are not able to regenerate themself. Hair vitamin C works the best as vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps cells to regenerate faster, and it also prevents your body cells from any potential damage. Here are some of the anti-aging benefits of Indian gooseberry/amla berry. 

• Skin- vitamin she is full of antioxidants and helps the body from any potential cellular damage. Indian gooseberry or Amla helps in the prevention of collagen breakdown. This process helps the human body to form the firm and flexible protein Matrix under your soft tissue and skin. 
• Hair- Indian gooseberries are commonly used in Asia to promote hair growth. Usually, we try to use the extract of Indian gooseberry and use them on to our hairs. This process helps us to promote hair growth, and some of the Indian books also say that Indian gooseberries are also helpful for hair loss as they may inhibit some enzymes that contribute to hair growth. 
• Vision- in many test tube studies and Indian mythological books, Indian gooseberry extract protects the age-related macular degeneration. This whole process mainly starts with improving the health of mitochondria of eye cells.

Cancer

Cancer is a very lethal disease, and it is very hard to treat cancer. But in the test tube and animal studies, the Indian gooseberry extracts have shown some really great results. The Indian gooseberry extract carried some certain types of cancer cells like lung cancers, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer. 

Indian gooseberries are high in antioxidants. These antioxidants increase antioxidant activity in the human body, which plays a very big role in Cancer prevention. The Indian gooseberry prevents the root cause of Cancer development as it helps to prevent cell mutations that may lead to cancer development and tumor growth. 

Some studies also show that Indian gooseberries have many phytochemicals like flavonoids and tannins that play a big role in cancer prevention. 

Before considering Indian gooseberry as the treatment of any type of cancer, you should know that no research on Indian gooseberries and cancer has been done on the human body. So, one cannot confirm these benefits from any study if you are suffering from any type of cancer, you need to go and take the recommendations and advice from your doctor or healthcare team.

Heart health

Indian gooseberry is very useful for heart health. There are several ways Indian gooseberry can help you to lower down the risk of heart disease this includes

Antioxidant effects

Indian gooseberry or Amla extracts might help you in the protection against oxidative damage, which has association with heart injury. Most famous American medical journals published this statement. The journals said that these statements had been noted, and in several animal studies, this is not experimented on human bodies. 

Regulate endothelial function

A study conducted on type 2 diabetes people, and they were given 100 milligrams of Indian gooseberry. As a result, they showed daily improvement in endothelial functions and drug atorvastatin to the same extent.

Anti-inflammatory effects

People who have some inflammatory disease might choose to have Indian gooseberries regularly as human studies have noted that Indian gooseberry helps reduce internal body inflammation. This is why doctors recommend having Amla on a regular basis to heart disease patients. It prevents the inflammation in body vessels to prevent any blockage. 

Normalises blood fat levels

Many human studies have seen an improvement in blood fat profiles after the proper supplementation of Indian gooseberries. These body fats included lower triglyceride and LDL bad cholesterol. The HDL, which is good cholesterol, increased. 

Reduces blood pressure

Amla is very helpful for those who have high blood pressure problems. Many studies have shown that Indian gooseberry may help in reducing high blood pressure levels as it may act as a vasodilator. We earlier explain that Amla is an anti-inflammatory fruit that prevents inflammation in internal body vessels, including blood vessels. 

Daily doses of Indian gooseberry may help in widening blood vessels that will benefit indirectly lower down the high blood pressure levels. We all know that high blood pressure is a very big risk factor for heart disease. 

Antiplatelet effects

Many people have a very lethal problem of blood clots, and doctors suggest them to have Indian gooseberries on a daily basis as supplementation of Indian gooseberries might help in the prevention of the formation of blood clots. These blood clothes may cause heart attacks if they block any blood vessels.

Blood sugar levels

In various animal studies, Indian gooseberry has been showing the effect of lowering down the blood sugar levels. Another small study has also been noted these effects. The study was conducted on 32 people taking 1.3 grams of Indian gooseberries daily for 21 days. And as a result, those people showed lower fasting and post-meal blood sugar levels. 

After seeing these study results, doctors started to suggest people who are suffering from type 2 diabetes taking Indian gooseberry on a daily basis. Nevertheless, more high-quality human studies are in need. 

Liver damage

People who are suffering from liver damage or liver disease might take a daily dose of Indian gooseberry as it might help you fight against liver damage. In animal studies, Amla extract protected the liver cells from any damage caused by n-nitrosodiethylamine and high-fat diet. Both substances are very toxic to the liver. The results were positive likely due to Indian gooseberry’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The study needs more improvement and to be test on humans. 

Immune health

During this pandemic time, the doctor suggested having Indian gooseberry on a daily basis as it is very helpful to boost your immunity. Indian gooseberry has some really great immune-boosting and strengthening qualities because of the presence of a high amount of vitamin C. 

A single Indian gooseberry has 600 to 800% of the vitamin c daily value. That means you do not need to eat anything else for the consumption of vitamin if you eat an Indian gooseberry on a daily basis. Vitamin C can help you to boost your immune system as it contains antioxidants, and antioxidants are helpful for anti-inflammation and protecting cells from aging damage.  

Normal inflammation is a good immune response, but chronic inflammation is an inadequate immune response that causes poor health.; chronic inflammation has an association with increased health risk, and finally, one might get type 2 diabetes. Chronic disease is also responsible for autoimmune disease and heart disease. Vitamin C helps you to strengthen your immune system as it promotes the proliferation of phagocytes. The phagocytes are special immune cells that are responsible for swallowing up the harmful invaders. Indian gooseberry also helps your body to make antibodies against harmful viruses and bacterias. 

Some Side Effects And Downsides

The most important challenge that everyone faces is that it is not an easy task to get fresh Indian gooseberries until you live in India and other native Indian countries. However still, you can buy some dry amla or dry amla powder from online stores. 

There are some of the side effects also like sue to its antiplatelet properties, Amla can thin your blood, and which is not good for health, but if you have a blood clotting problem, then you might choose to have it on a daily basis if you have blood-thinning disorders that you should stop taking Amla and talk to your doctor. One should not be taking Indian gooseberry one month before any surgery as your blood may get thinner, and during surgery, you might lose a lot of blood. 

Indian gooseberry is helpful for diabetes, but sometimes your blood sugar level may get very low. So you should keep this in mind. 

Although there is no significant proof of any safety issue, you should not eat Indian gooseberries during your pregnancy or breastfeeding and conceive a child. 

How To Use It

One can eat Indian gooseberries raw. However, this fruit is very sour, so this might be appealing for most of you. But in India, many people eat it raw, and some use this fruit as a pickle and candies in a simple syrup. But you do not live nearby Indian; then you can order this fruit from an online store. It is available in dry form and powder form. You can have it in any form, and in Ayurveda books, people suggests to have it in the morning with water. 

Final Words

Indian gooseberries are the most common ingredients in Ayurveda and herbal medicines. Its supplements are very beneficial as it might help you with anti-aging, cancer prevention, heart health effects, and heartburn reduction. The fruit is full of vitamin C and very helpful for the human body.

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