SKIN, HAIR AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING NEEM LEAVES ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
First thing in the morning, your gut and stomach are particularly receptive to recommendations. What you feed your stomach right after you get up has a big impact on how your digestive system functions throughout the day. It’s common knowledge that eating or drinking something within the first hour of waking up helps kick-start your metabolism, so your morning munchies can have a huge impact on your energy levels throughout the day. All of these elements have contributed to several ‘nuskhe’ regarding eating or drinking particular things immediately after waking up in order to improve one’s health. Neem, or Indian Lilac as it is known in India, is one such common treatment. The habit of eating neem leaves on an empty stomach and its advantages have long been discussed, and here’s everything you need to know about it…
Benefits of eating neem leaves on an empty stomach:
Neem leaves have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, as previously stated. The chemicals in neem can help combat a variety of skin problems, including acne, itchy skin, bug bites, eczema, ringworm, and burn complications.
Consumption of neem aids in the purification of the blood and the maintenance of healthy skin. It also reduces inflammation in your body, which aids in the control of your sebaceous glands and the inhibition of excessive sebum production. This is especially beneficial for seasonal acne during the monsoon and summer months, when oily skin can clog pores and develop blackheads and other types of blemishes.
The ingestion of neem leaves promotes scalp health and hair growth. The antifungal qualities of neem can aid in the treatment of malassezia infections, a fungus that feeds on natural scalp oils and causes hair to become greasy. Both applying and consuming neem leaves has been shown to help prevent malassezia-induced infections on the scalp, as well as dandruff and flakiness on the scalp.
Neem is also high in antioxidants, which can help protect your scalp from free radical damage. This inhibits hair loss and promotes new hair growth while also preventing early “ageing” of the scalp. Antioxidants in your diet can aid to increase your scalp’s cell turnover cycles, keeping it nourished and healthy.
One of the major advantages of consuming neem on an empty stomach is that it helps improve your gut health. Maintaining good gut health is necessary for feeling healthy inside and out. This also leads to your system being better at digesting and absorbing nutrients; and expelling toxins from your system at the same time. Such a regular form of detox helps keep your blood clean and heightens your body’s ability to fight infections and keeps conditions like fever and flu at bay.
Eating neem leaves can help your immune system self-regulate itself and being rich in ethanol, it can boost the antibacterial activity against external pathogens. Drinking neem water on an empty stomach can also heighten your body’s capacity to heal its wounds internally; keeping you from falling sick and helping you maintain optimal health.
In recent years, there has been a shift in focus towards oral health to heighten beauty aesthetics – a beautiful smile just happens to be an attractive quality that everybody wants. This is where the increase in popularity of chewing leaves comes in! The compounds present in neem can help keep your teeth and gums free of tartar and plaque buildup. The antibacterial properties of the leaves are also good for ridding your mouth cavity of bacteria build up from the previous night. This can further help get rid of bad breath caused by a lack of oral hygiene habits.
The herbal treatment of chewing neem leaves has been known to help polish your teeth and help whiten them naturally. So, adding this ritual to your morning routine can really help upgrade your dental care practice with little to no effort, you just have to get past the bitter taste of it!
One of the more well-known and long practiced uses of neem leaves is its consumption to manage blood sugar levels. While experts say there is still a lot of research left to be done to study the direct relation of chewing neem leaves on an empty stomach in the morning and blood sugar levels, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest the same. This is because neem is rich in plenty of flavonoids and glycosides that can help manage optimum blood sugar levels in people who struggle with diabetes or diabetic conditions.
Since there are no potential side effects to consuming neem leaves, it is safe to assume that you can still add it in your diet, even if it may not help in a big way.
