India is the land of divine herbs and plantations; all the herbs here are rich in miraculous benefits. Many of us unaware of these facts; so when we fall ill directly we run to pharmacy stores. Actually, the major reason is; none of us wants to come forward for experimentations! Here, we will be describing one of the fruit cum herbs which is rich in numerous benefits-

Introduction:-

Amla is also known as ‘Indian Gooseberry’ in English is our concerned topic. It is commonly found in forests and gardens. Merely, it is also found at heights up to 4500 ft. Its appearance is translucent greenish coloured round fruit; which resembles a jumping ball.

The leaves of the plant are like those of tamarind; slightly bigger than that. Indian gooseberry is of two types; one is wild which is small and hard whereas cultivated gooseberry is bigger in size, sweet and pulpy.

The plant bears flowers in February-March and fruits in October-April. The tree is medium-sized about 20-25 ft tall. Generally, the tree is not is straight; bark is dark brown, thin and layered.

Nomenclature

Amla or Indian Gooseberry belongs to kingdom Plantae and ‘Phyllanthaceae’ family. Its binomial name is “Phyllanthus emblica”. In Hindi it is also called; Amla, Anwara etc. In Sanskrit, it is called Aamalki or Dhatri.

Composition and properties

First of all, Indian Gooseberry is rich in Vitamin C. It has 20 times more Vitamin C as compared to any citrus fruit. It contains gallic acid, tannic acid, carbohydrates, albumen, cellulose, calcium, iron, protein, phosphorus, Nicotinic acid and many others.

Inside the seeds, there is a brownish-yellow oil which has multiple benefits. It has anti-dermatoses and antipyretic properties in it. It is also called Amrit phal or foster-mother Dharti.

Indian gooseberry has multiple uses; some of them are listed below

1. It is advised by doctors to have at least 1 raw amla in a day. It detoxifies your body and protects from bowel syndromes.
2. Amla is used to prepare a well-known sweet or dessert item called; Amla Murabba. It is prepared using Amla, sugar and water.
3. Amla is also used to prepare pickles which are highly beneficial.
4. Many also like to have boiled amla as part of their regular diet.
5. The seeds of amla are used to extract oil which is highly beneficial.

Medicinal benefits of Indian Gooseberry (Amla)

1) Eye flu and disorders

The eye is considered as the window to the soul. Due to several factors, our eyes get prone to several ailments. Amla is widely used to cure these ailments. Take 20 gm of Indian gooseberry; grind well and boil in 1 litre of water for 2 hours. Strain the water and store this liquid as an eye drop.

Use this thrice a day; it is good for all kinds of eye problems. If your eyes are getting swelled, then pluck the fruit from tree and collect the juice that oozes outside. Apply this around the eyes.

For boils in eyes, take 7 gm of fruit and grind it solid with cold water. Keep it still for few hours, after that squeeze the pulp out. Repeat the procedure for 2-3 times, Use this eye drop thrice a day.

2) For healthy hairs

Amla is like a miracle for those suffering from hair problems. Take gooseberry and mango seed and prepare a paste; apply this on hair. Rise after getting dried; this results in strong, healthy and shiny hairs.

3) Acidity or Peptic disorder

Amla works really well in acidity and in similar issues. You can simply take amla juice with small quantities of cumin powder and black salt. In a few minutes, you will observe the results. Take 1-2 gooseberry fruit with an equal amount of honey; twice a day. It eradicates the problem of sour hiccough and acidity.

Take 10-15 gm gooseberry seeds and soak them in water for overnight. Next day, grind with cow’s milk. Give 1 teaspoon of paste along with 250 gm of cow’s milk. It cures acidity.

4) Promotes longevity

Take gooseberry regularly; this improves your immune system and treats all kinds of ailments. You can also have gooseberry powder with ghee, honey or water at night. It promotes eye health and treats all kinds of flu.

Take 5-6 gm of gooseberry powder with gooseberry juice; it is very good and detoxifies your body making it free from ailments and any disorder.

5) For Arthritis

Take 20-25 gm of dried gooseberry fruit with 20 gm jaggery. Boil them in 1-litre water till the water gets reduced to 250 gm. Strain the solution and give this to the patient twice a day. It is beneficial to cure-all types of arthritis; while treatment patient must avoid salt.

6) For Jaundice

Jaundice is a disease which affects your liver very harshly; with heavy medicines, our body tends unable to recover wholly. In this case, you should opt for Ayurveda. Prepare a paste of gooseberry fruit with honey; give this paste twice a day to the patient.

7) For Diarrhoea

In case of Diarrhoea, grind 5-6 gooseberry fruit and 2 inch ginger with water and apply around the belly button. In this very treatment, even the free-flowing diarrhoea gets cured.

8) For Gout disorder

Prepare a decoction of gooseberry, turmeric powder and nagarmotha. Take 50-60 gm of this decoction and mix with 2 teaspoons of honey. Give this decoction to the patient; thrice a day.

In this way, we saw numerous medicinal benefits of Indian gooseberry. This very fruit tastes sour and pungent but has immense healing power. It has a property; if you eat it in raw form it will taste pungent, but as soon as you drink water you will feel sweet in your tongue. Stay natural Stay healthy!