This vegetable is used to adorn the soups of many homes across the country. However, many people have fallen into difficult economic times and there has been a decrease in the volume and frequency with which okra now appears in the menu of many homes. Without a doubt, the unit price has risen steadily over time. Secondly, the downturn in agricultural activities across the land due to insecurity and other challenges have led to a steady reduction in the availability of the product in many markets.
Traditionally, okra is made into a soup either alone or in combination with some other leafy vegetables like bitter leaf and ugwu. Sometimes, it is mixed with ogbono. In South-West Nigeria, it is frequently made in one of several ways which may be that it is mixed with a stew prepared differently or together as one soup. Either way, the presence of okra in accompaniment of our traditionally swallowed meals like eba, fufu, semo, amala and iyan is such that even our fore-fathers recognised its ability to regulate the gastrointestinal environment because it is able to block the adhesion to and colonisation of the walls of the stomach by Helicobacter pylori, thereby helping to combat the nuisance of that organism in causing peptic ulcers and gastritis. This way, okra helps to support the gastrointestinal system. It also contains mucilage, a slimy substance that helps to reduce irritation in the stomach especially, and in the intestinal tract as a whole.
Okra is also known as ladies’ fingers, and is a warm-season vegetable, popular in the southern parts of the United States, the Caribbean, South America and parts of Africa and the Middle East. In all these places, the pattern of preparation of okra differs widely.
In the paragraph above, we have described broadly how it forms an essential part of the diet among the various ethnic groups in Nigeria. In some other parts of the world, okra is chopped into small bits, boiled in a sauce and eaten as a dessert or an accessory to a main meal. It is essentially a pod of various sizes containing edible seeds which provide the body with iron, niacin, copper and vitamins A, C and B6. A diet that is rich in this and other similar vegetables and nuts can prevent the development of cardiovascular disease conditions, obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Therefore, this one, like other vegetables, is a healthy addition to diet, and as with other foods or nutrients, it is always good to take it in moderation as part of a varied kind of diet.
All about it is not necessarily good news, of course, as those who consume okra in excess are prone to the development of certain types of kidney stones because okra is rich in oxalates and they will cause oxalate stones in people who have previously had them. Further to the point is the fact that oxalates already form the bulk of all the stones in the urinary system. Taking an excess amount of okra only makes that development more likely.
Okra also contains polysaccharides and high fibre that assist in the slow absorption of carbohydrates. It binds toxic metabolites within the digestive system so that they are not reabsorbed. This happens because it has powerful detoxification properties. This has a protective effect against potential substances that can cause inflammatory bowel disease and gastroenteritis. By having this property, therefore, it protects the integrity of the entire system.
Okra slows the absorption of glucose from the intestinal tract and by so doing, has a profound effect in preventing the deterioration of the individual from a state of pre-diabetes to diabetes. It, therefore, also helps with the stabilisation of glycosylated haemoglobin, the A1c haemoglobin, which measures the average effectiveness of blood sugar control by a person in the previous three months. By doing all these, okra can help to reduce the speed with which weight is gained, or prevent it from happening in the first place. It helps to prevent insulin resistance in this way. The fibre it contains stabilises blood sugar by slowing the rate of absorption of sugar from the gastrointestinal system.
By slowing the uptake of glucose from the intestines, it reduces the severity of craving for sugars in the body. This improves the level of satiety in the body and protects the beta cells of the pancreas when glucose is not allowed to rise rapidly in the blood. In this way, the stress levels of the pancreas are reduced.
The polythenols and flavenoids contained in okra also help to reduce the level of lactic acid during physical activities. This is true also for the regulation of blood urea nitrogen levels so that you do not always feel tired following such activities. Those compounds all help to increase the circulating levels of antioxidants and superoxide dismutase, which will also help to prevent the development of fatty liver and clogging up of the arteries. In the same way, it will encourage the accumulation of the healthy cholesterol known as high density lipoproteins, HDL, which has a protective effect on the interior walls of the blood vessels and protects the integrity of the heart itself by ensuring an adequate amount of oxygen is supplied to all parts of the heart and its muscles.
The circulating levels of cholesterol are also controlled when it prevents that substance from binding to bile. This contributes to the regulation of the cholesterol levels in the blood. Cholesterol is regarded as an accelerator for the development of cardiovascular diseases. This includes the formation of artherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. These are potential causes for a heart attack or a stroke in many individuals as some future complication. The people who are most at risk for the development of these often fatal complications are those who indulge in heavy cigarette smoking, or those who are obese or have already developed hypertension or diabetes or both.
Okra also has powerful antioxidant properties by virtue of containing fibropectin and catechins and scientists now believe that these compounds probably lower the risk of getting certain types of cancer. Besides, many scientists also think that these properties enable okra to develop antimicrobial capabilities that are useful in man. Overall, the totality of the properties possessed by okra has a positive overall benefit for the persons who consume it.
Furthermore, okra is a rich source of folate which is a metabolite of folic acid and therefore, a very useful compound in the formation of red blood cells. Okra is therefore a direct contributor to the propensity to live a happier life by sleeping better, feeling fitter and minimising stress levels in the body.
Finally, this vegetable has anti-inflammatory properties that enable the body to return quicker to its normal resting state after vigorous exercise, illness or injury. It is remarkable how this vegetable that now seems to be in retreat from the culinary consideration of many Nigerian dishes and frequently taken for granted in the past, can now be finally acknowledged as possessing many beneficial properties in the health of many people. It is, therefore, important that from this day forward, people are encouraged to add okra to their soups in a meaningful and regular manner in order to derive enhanced benefits from its consumption.
