Today’s Amazing Fact: Meet the ‘Garden’s’ Egg. (Egg Plant)

The Garden egg has been argued to have been the fruit of life in Eden as it literally offers health benefits for the entire body!

Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of vegetables, which also includes tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes. They grow in a manner much like tomatoes, hanging from the vines of a plant that grows several feet in height. While the different varieties do range slightly in taste and texture, one can generally describe the eggplant as having a pleasantly bitter taste and spongy texture.

A study was conducted in Nigeria. Several doctors from Nigeria have stated that during the study, rats have been showing better reduction of the weight gain, when eating garden egg. These results showed that garden egg has stronger effect than the oat and apple. One of the effects which are very positive, is the increasing of the high plasma HDL cholesterol.

Health benefits of Garden Eggs

1. Weight Loss: Owing to its high fibre, low calories and low soluble carbohydrate content, it is quite beneficial in weight loss either as a main meal, part of a main meal, or as an in-between meal snack. It has a fleshy consistency that is filling and satisfying. However, it is notably low in protein which needs to be augmented for.
2. Very beneficial in control of Hypertension and Diabetes: Most foods that aid weight control are quite useful in diabetics and hypertensive patients for obvious reasons.
3. Helps deal with Constipation: This is also because of its high fibre content which ensures an easy flow of bowel contents.
4. Reduces Cholesterol: It reduces the blood level of LDL (bad cholesterol) and increases HDL (good cholesterol)
5. The chlorogenic acid anti-oxidant performs anti-cancer activities in the body.
6. Anti-Ulcer Effect: Garden egg has been found to be effective in preventing peptic ulcer according to a study that was performed in rats. It impressively had effects that measures up to Ranatidine (a popular potent anti-ulcer medication) usually given to reduce the level of acid production in the stomach.
7. Beneficial in Glaucoma: Consuming high amounts of garden eggs have been found to be beneficial for people with glaucoma because it lowers the eye (intra-occular) pressure as found in this study that was carried out almost a decade ago on Igbo people by the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu Pharmacy department and Abia State University School of Optometry.

In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many of which have antioxidant activity. Phytonutrients contained in eggplant include phenolic compounds, such as caffeic and chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids, such as nasunin.

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. In animal studies, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes.

Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell from free radicals, letting nutrients in and wastes out, and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell which activities it should perform.

However, the benefits of eating garden eggs extend far beyond ensuring that one's desire for a good meal is satisfied. Garden eggs although, low in vitamin, still have some nutritional merits. Low in calories and sodium, eggplant can also be counted on to deliver plenty of minerals.