The benefits and harms of eggplant for the human body

Eggplant Is a vegetable in the nightshade family that also includes tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. The use of eggplant as a food product began more than one and a half thousand years ago in China, where this vegetable was first grown, as well as in Southeast Asia and India.

This product came to Europe thanks to the Arabs, who spread it throughout the continent. But the inhabitants of Europe did not immediately like its taste. However, when the Europeans tasted the taste of eggplant, they liked it.

Eggplants are superior to nightshades and many other vegetables in their beneficial properties, but at the same time they are one of the few vegetables that are prohibited to be eaten raw. So what are the benefits and harms of eggplant, let’s figure it out.

The benefits of eggplant

The positive effect of eggplant on human health is due to its rich composition. So, it contains soluble sugars, fiber, proteins, potassium, soluble sugars, pectin, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, vitamins B1, B2, B5, C and PP.

• Eliminates nicotine addiction. It is recommended to add eggplants to your diet for smokers who want to get rid of their bad habit. The fact is that vitamin PP, which is part of the vegetable and, in fact, is nicotinic acid, helps to endure nicotine starvation more easily;
• An effective product for overweight people. Eggplant is a low-calorie vegetable with only 100 kilocalories per 28 grams. It is rich in fiber, which helps cleanse the body of excess fluid and toxins. If you want to lose weight and include eggplants in your diet, it is worth considering that they absorb a large amount of oil during the frying process. To avoid this, the sliced ​​vegetable pieces should be soaked in cold water for 10 minutes. In general, the most useful eggplants are stewed and baked;
• Pectin, which is part of the product, improves digestion processes. Moreover, this substance prevents the stagnation of bile and removes excess cholesterol from the blood, preventing its further absorption;
• Increases the efficiency of the cardiovascular system. Not only pectins, but also potassium, which is rich in eggplant, removes excess fluid from the body, including low density lipoproteins. In this regard, this vegetable is included in the list of the best natural remedies for lowering blood cholesterol levels, especially eggplant juice. Potassium also improves heart function and normalizes water metabolism. In addition, the regular use of blue ones has a relaxing effect on the blood vessels, improving blood circulation. This is due to the properties of phytonutrients and nasunin in the vegetable. In addition to its ability to inhibit oxidation processes, nasunin controls the amount of iron in the blood, which is very important for transporting oxygen, strengthening immunity and producing collagen. Removing an excess of this substance, eggplants prevent the development of not only cardiovascular diseases, but also rheumatoid arthritis;
• Promotes the prevention of cancer. Nasunin is a powerful antioxidant that protects lipids in cell membranes from damage to brain cells and the harmful effects of free radicals. There is also chlorogenic acid in eggplants, which destroys microbes, fungi, has an anti-mutagenic effect and regulates the level of “bad” cholesterol, thanks to which it prevents cancer. In addition to chlorogenic acid, this vegetable contains 13 more phenolic acids, which are oncoprotectors;
• Strengthens the immune and nervous system. The eggplant contains enough ascorbic acid to consume this vegetable as a preventive measure against colds and viral diseases. They can also boast of the presence of vitamin B, which improves the state of the nervous system, improves mood, relieves insomnia and stress in the case of regular eggplant intake;
• Zinc and manganese, found in the fruits of the vegetable, help to recover from a stroke. And the ability to lower blood sugar levels makes eggplant an affordable product for diabetics;
• Possesses pronounced antiseptic, regenerating and antibacterial properties. This makes it possible to use the fruit of eggplant for the treatment of infections and as a remedy for external use in order to accelerate the healing of wounds and abrasions. These properties make this product useful for ulcer healing as well;
• Supports normal lipid and water-salt metabolism, removes uric acid salts and has a mild diuretic and anti-edema effect. Therefore, these vegetables are especially useful for gout, osteochondrosis, osteoporosis, disorders of the liver, kidneys, stomach and intestines, as well as constipation. Thanks to calcium, eggplant strengthens the bone structure;
• It has a beneficial effect on the body of a pregnant woman. Regular use of eggplant significantly improves blood composition, thanks to iron, hemoglobin and the synthesis of red blood cells increase, which helps prevent anemia, which often affects pregnant women. The purple fruit also helps maintain normal blood pressure. There is also folic acid in this vegetable, which ensures the full formation of the fetus;
• Stimulates the functioning of the bone marrow and spleen. Eggplant is rich in essential minerals such as iron, manganese, copper and cobalt, which improve blood production, having a positive effect on the functioning of the spleen and bone marrow.

Eggplant harm

Despite the large list of healing properties of eggplants above, these vegetables are not all that harmless, as much depends on how they are prepared and how ripe they are.

• Fried eggplant is more harmful than good. In a fried vegetable, fiber is destroyed, and its pulp is saturated with toxic substances that are released from the vegetable oil during the cooking process. Moreover, the calorie content of fried eggplant soaked in oil is several times higher than the calorie content of baked or boiled vegetables. Especially such food is not recommended for people with gastrointestinal problems;
• Overripe fruits are oversaturated with solanine. Solanin is a poisonous substance with which a person can be poisoned. Poisoning can manifest with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, seizures, colic and even confusion. Overripe eggplants, as a rule, have a brown skin color, an excessive amount of seeds and a visually stale stem. Therefore, it is best to take eggplants with white peel – they have a minimum content of solanine, while they have a pleasant and delicate taste. If you are still poisoned with solanine, drinking plenty of water, milk and raw egg whites will help cleanse your body of this poison;
• Do not overuse raw or fried eggplants with gastritis, stomach ulcers and indigestion. Although eating eggplant helps to reduce high blood sugar, diabetics and patients undergoing insulin therapy should not get too carried away with this product, since the vegetable contains few carbohydrates, and such a diet is dangerous by the development of hypoglycemia (falling sugar below normal).

As you already understood, the benefits and harms of eggplant depend on the degree of ripeness of the fruit and the way it is prepared. In general, these are unusually healthy vegetables with a large number of useful properties and strengthening human health.

Nutritional value and chemical composition of eggplant

Video about the benefits and harms of eggplant