Are you looking for another health-promoting and nutrient heavy food to add on your plate?
Who is not and why not?
We just published a blog with several of the gifted foods with health-boosting and medicinal benefits. [https://healthhelmet.com/19-choicest-superfoods-health-promoting-with-medicinal-benefits-smart-eats]
You prefer food which serves as medicine to prevent and cure diseases over real medicines because of fewer side effects.
Okra nutrition is just what you might be looking forward to adding it on to your daily diet.
Not familiar with Okra?
I would not blame you. Okra is still evolving to enter into the mainstream with its amazing nutrition profile.
Okra Abelmoschus esculentus, known in many English-speaking countries as ladies’ finger, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is grown in hot climate or summer time. It has a long history which dates back to 1886. Okra may not be grown around the world but it is available in fresh and frozen around the ecosphere.
I just took a picture of my plant inside my raised bed key-hole garden along with some fruits, leaves and a flower to present you. Okra can be purple or come in different shades of green in color. You also see the various names of Okra in different parts of the world on the side of this post.
Okra Nutrition Profile
Here is your age-old okra making reappearing on the mainstream with its stunning nutrition profile.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Data Base, one cup of raw okra, weighing around 100 grams (g) contains the following nutrients.
- 33 calories
- 1.93 g of protein
- 2 g of Fat
- 7.5 g of Carb
- 3.2 g of Fiber
- 1.5 g of Sugar
- 82 mg of Calcium
- 62 mg of Iron
- 57 mg of Magnesium
- 61 mg of Phosphorous
- 58 mg of Zinc
- 23 mg of Vitamin C
- 0.2 mg of Thiamin
- 06 mg of Riboflavin
- 0.215 mg of Vitamin B6
- 60 micrograms (mcg) of Folate
- 36 micrograms (mcg) of Vitamin A
- 27 mg Vitamin E
- 3 mg of Vitamin K
Okra may not be on your list of favorite fruit/vegetable from the supermarket’s aisle. Its slime nature freaks people away at times.
You can consume young raw okra as fruit. You also can cook it with mouthwatering recipes flooded over the internet. Raw okra enjoys the best nutrition.
Okra is almost equivalent in nutrition as raw, fresh or as cooked, boiled, drained and frozen
There are a few nutritional differences highlighted in red in the table below.
Take Away
Okra carries a rich nutrition profile.
- low in carb
- no fat
- a good amount of protein
- high in fiber
- a full panel of minerals such as Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorous, etc.
- It has beneficial Vitamins: K, A, B, C, and folate.
Try to make this amazing nutrition a part of your diet.
I am always looking for foods that also has medicinal value. I had no idea how medically beneficial okra is! Unfortunately, I live in a backwoods area and our two large supermarkets rarely carry it – not even frozen which I find shocking. I mean, what is a gumbo without okra? I LOVE okra and there are many ways to get the sliminess out of it.
Cooked in soups and stews, okra is absolutely wonderful. Battered and deef fried is super yummy but then again probably not as good for you – darn! Just search your favourite web browser for okra recipes and you will find many great ideas on how to cook this yummy vegetable!
Hi there,
Oka is anti-diabetic, anti-cancerous among many other medicinal benefits. I will have a blog coming up about the benefits of oka.
This year I have a few okra plants in my garden. I hope you can find some to enjoy the health benefits. Maybe, you can ask the supermarket to bring some over.
I only know a few recipes. I love it as stirfry or raw. I have to try out more recipes.
Thank you for your time and for putting your thoughts together.
Thanks for your information on Okra. I have never heard of this before. Looking at your pictures they seem very similar to a green chilli. Would you agree? Have you any recipes that can be used with Okra I am really interested about this? They seem a very healthy food. You cannot go wrong with no fat, low calories and high protein. Brilliant!
The picture of okra in my post is from okra picked from my back yard.
You are right, It looks like peppers but has 5-6 edges like long lines from one end to other.
I eat them raw as fruit or saute them with a little oil. That is the easiest for me. But there are numerous recipes for okra on the internet.
Thank you for reading and sharing your opinion
Hi mam
Very good back up from your side to
both diabatic/non diabetic persons in our cosmos.Yes , according to your
nutriontiional data value of okara(ladies finger), it can be best item in our dinning table. I myself usually take juice of okara cut pieces in morning, after midnight operation of in full glass of water.
Your block is very lucid. Waiting for future block.
Thank you, dear for taking the time to read the blog and sharing your personal experience. Enjoy the vegetable and reap the benefits.
If you are interested you may read my recently published blog about okra in diabetes.
https://healthhelmet.com/okra-a-compelling-nutrition-for-diabetes
I have known about okra for ages but I have never tried it, mostly because it is either not offered in local supermarkets or I don’t know how to prepare it. How do you use it raw? Do you have any suggestions? There are probably many recipes for cooked okra online. What is your favorite recipe?
Next time I go shopping I will check if okra is available. If it is, I will give it a try. I am always open to try out new things. I’m amazed at how many vitamins okra holds. It’s definitely a very nutritional food.
Hi Christine,
I just wash them, cut the top and bottom and eat them raw.
The easiest one is sauteed them with olive oil and mashed garlic.
Thank you for your interest in trying the superfruit Okra. It carries many medicinal benefits as well.
Thanks for this healthy post! It is amazing to know the meaning of OKRA(Ladyfinger),Thanks. I am glad to read about its benefits and side effects as well. I would like to add something to your topic regarding of OKRA benefits which I was told by my grand mother a few years ago. I remember when I’d got hard caught my grandmother would buy Okra and cooked saying, it would be good for you to cure your cough soon.
I am glad to read this helpful post and keep this page aside for my further reference.I’ve bookmarked it!
Have a great weekend
Hi Shirian,
I love your Grand Ma’s words for Okra and I thank you for sharing. Okra is a powerhouse of medicinal benefit.
Thank you for your time reading the blog.
I personally really enjoy these types of products that most people don’t know. Many times wisdom is power, and our current society and culture make that these types of products are not known because they are less standardized, or simply because they are less known.
I think this is a good nutritional product if as you say it can be more beneficial than a medical product. In addition, being able to eat it like a fruit means that it can be easily included in the diet of all people. I do not consider myself an expert in nutritional data, but I can see that it has good qualities, such as that it does not make you fat, it is high in fiber, as well as it is rich in several important minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Hi Nestor,
Currently, doctors are considering nutritional therapy and encouraging healthy food not only for health but for taking care of medicine.
We should be cognizant of that fact when we eat. Yes, we need minerals as you have mentioned.
Thank you for Your time reading the article.