Go for Nelli, Envlic Myrobalan

The anti-ageing fruit of high nutritious and therapeutic value:

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

The popular saying goes 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' but I was told 'A few nellies a day will not only keep the doctor away but also keep the beauticians and cosmetics away'. This sounded very interesting. I asked the doctor to go on as I waited eagerly to hear what he had to say.

Nelli is an anti ageing fruit apart from its high nutritious and therapeutic value. Very few people are aware of this. If one consumes nelli daily they need not visit the beautician or pick up a wide range of cosmetics and apply it on a daily basis. We , Sri Lankans are so near and yet so far from making best use of the natural goodies we possess, we prefer going in for artificial products.'

Freely available in Sri Lanka as well as in India, Envlic Myrobalan, termed nelli in Sinhala and Nellika in Tamil is connected with God Vishnu and Hinduism and the use of the fruit is very popular in India.

According to Hinduism, it is a fruit that is always seen in the hand of Hindus says Dr. Vajira P.S. Seneviratne, visiting lecturer of the Moratuwa University cum pharmaceutical consultant, a multidisciplinary academic with integrated knowledge of Ayurveda and modern Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Nelli has the richest source of natural vitamin C , 25,000 parts per million ,incomparable to any other fruit. A very powerful antioxidant in our bodies, together with other therapeutic values , nelli could be used to obtain relief and cures.

Common cold and even fatal diseases such as cancer could be controlled with the daily intake of nelli, Dr Seneviratne explained.

Thus, the common practice of buying high dosages of Vitamin C tablets over the counters is not a necessity if one could resort to getting accustomed to a natural source which is more nutritious and hassle free in the long run. All it takes is getting habituated with eating the fruit .

A fruit with a mixed taste which gives you goose pimples when consumed, nelli is said to contain six tastes sour, sweet, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent-which makes it difficult to distinguish its exact taste if one is to describe it. It is the medicinal variety nelli, the smaller fruit, which is sour while the larger, fleshier one is sweeter, Dr Seneviratne explained.

In the modern world due to various factors, environmental and dietary, various toxins are formed and accumulated in our bodies.These free radicals in turn damage our vital organs and cells which accelerates degeneration and early decay resulting in premature ageing.

Vitamins highest in Ascorbic acids such as nelli, having 3,000-27,000 parts per million,enriched with amino acids helps slow down the ageing process to a great extent in addition to its other benefits, Dr Seneviratne added.

Nelli is a good nutritional fruit. Out of 20 vitamins it contains 17 and is rich in Betacarotin, Thiamin and Niacin, carbohydrates, sucrose, is a starch complex and is soluble and insoluble fibre, important in the management of diabetes in particular too.

It has proved to be highly nourishing for head ailments, control of dandruff and growth of hair too.It has proved to be a good nutrient which is known for its properties of combating oral diseases and tooth and gum diseases.

Proven to be a source of management of gastritis, nelli could also be consumed in the form of fruit juices, salads and sambols for variety. So, remember the saying a nelli a day is a natural remedy to chasing your cares away.

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