Bael Fruits - Natural Benefits
 

The natural benefits and curative properties of bael fruit:

Bael-Golden Apple

Botanical name: Aegle marmelos

Sinhala: Beli

Tamil: Vilyam Palam

The bael tree is one of the most useful medicinal plants of India. Its medicinal properties have been described in the ancient medical treatise in Sanskrit, Charaka Samhita. All the parts of this tree including stem, bark, root, leaves and fruit at all stages of maturity has medicinal virtues and has been used as traditional medicine for a long time.

The fruit is of considerably medicinal value when it just begins to ripen. The ripe fruit is aromatic, astringent which helps construction of skin, coolant and laxative. The unripe or half-ripe fruit is astringent, digestive stomachic which improves appetite and antiscorbutic, i.e. which helps to fight scurvy caused due to vitamin C deficiency.

Almost all parts of the bael tree - root, leaves, bark and fruit - are medicinal. The bark of bael root constitutes the famous dashamoola (ten roots of medicinal plants) which is a proven ayurvedic remedy for chronic inflammatory conditions and many of the gynaecological problems.

The Indian Fruit Used To Help You in Your Struggles Against Diabetes, Bowel Disorders and Viral Infections

Constipation

Ripe bael fruit is regarded as best of all laxatives. It cleans and tones up the intestines. Its regular use for two or three months helps evacuate even the old accumulated faecal matter from the bowels.

For best results, it should be taken in the form of sherbat, which is prepared from the pulp of the ripe fruit. After breaking the shell, the seeds are first removed, and contents are then taken out with a spoon and passed through a sieve.

Milk and little sugar may be added to make it more palatable. The pulp of the ripe fruit can also be taken from the spoon without the addition of milk or sugar. About 60 grams of the fruit will suffice for an adult.

Diarrhea and Dysentery

The unripe or half ripe fruit is perhaps, the most effective food remedy for chronic diarrhea and dysentery where there is no fever. Best results are obtained by the use of dried bael or its powder. The bael fruit, when it is still green, is sliced and dried in the sun.

The dried bael slices are reduced into powder and preserved in air-tight bottles. The unripe bael can also be baked and taken with jaggery or brown sugar.

The fruit appears to have little effect in acute dysentery when there is definite sensation to defecate but instead of significant amount of faeces, blood and mucus alone are passed. The powdered drug is specially recommended in this condition.

Its beneficial effect its, however, most evident when the condition has become sub-acute or chronic. After the use of the fruit in these conditions, the blood gradually disappears and the stool assume a more feculent and solid form.

The mucus also disappears after continued use for some time. It is also a valuable remedy for chronic dysenteric conditions characterized by alternate diarrhea and constipation.

Peptic Ulcer

An infusion of bael leaves is regarded as an effective food remedy for peptic ulcer. The leaves are soaked overnight in water. This water is strained and taken as a drink in the morning.

The pain and discomfort are relieved when this treatment is continued for a few weeks. Bael leaves are rich in tannins which reduce inflammation and help healing of ulcers. The bael fruit taken in the form of beverage has also great viscous content. This substance forms a coating on the stomach mucosa and thus helps in the healing of ulcers.

Respiratory Affections

A medicated oil prepared from bael leaves gives relief from recurrent colds and respiratory affections. The juice extracted from bael leaves is mixed with equal quantity of sesame oil and heated thoroughly.

A few seeds of black pepper and half a teaspoonful of black cumin are added to the hot oil. It is then removed from the fire and stored for use when necessary. A teaspoonful of this oil should be massaged into the scalp before a head bath. Its regular use builds up resistance against colds and coughs.

A common practice in south India is to give the juice of bael leaves to bring relief from wheezing and respiratory spasm. The leaf juice, mixed in warm water with a little pepper, is give as a drink.

It protects your heart from diabetes just as well as conventional drugs.

Some of these chemicals are effective against diabetes and, according to research, may even be more active than conventional prescription-only anti-diabetic drugs. In one experiment, researchers from the Department of Biochemistry, Annamalai University, in Nagar, India, compared the properties of bael fruit extracts to the drug Glibenclamide.

This is a conventional drug used to help the body produce more insulin and therefore reduce the symptoms of diabetes.

In this experiment, the scientists gave the extract to diabetic rats in the laboratory and found that the extracts were able to protect the heart and other tissues of the animals against diabetes.

The results were more noticeable in those animals which were given the bael fruit extract, compared to those who were treated with glibenglamide.2

Although this experiment was performed on laboratory animals, scientists believe that the same effects can be found in humans too, which makes the bael fruit a promising treatment for diabetes. However, more research is needed to confirm this beyond doubt.

Bael helps get rid of infections before they take hold

In another experiment, extracts of bael were tested against viral infections, particularly against certain viruses that cause chest or bowel infections. In this experiment, many parts of the tree were used separately, including the fruit, root, leaves and bark.

The results were then compared to the drug Ribavirin, which is a standard drug used against viral infections. The results showed that all extracts were as effective as Ribavirin in reducing the risk of viral infections.

The scientists believe that the extracts work by killing the viruses before they have the chance to take hold inside your cells and cause the infection.3

In addition to being active against viruses, bael is also effective against fungal infections such as thrush or bowel infections. This was proven by another group of Indian scientists from the Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. These scientists found that the bael fruit extracts were effective at blocking the spreading of the fungi, even in cases of normally resistant infections.4

This combined anti-infective action of bael, together with its ability to heal the inside lining of the bowel, may be very useful in patients who have chronic bowel conditions such as ulcerative colitis.

A natural antidote to free radicals

Some scientists believe that bael may have benefits beyond those traditionally acknowledged by ancient practitioners. For example, the fruit extracts may be an effective way of protecting against the effects of radiation during radiotherapy.

Researchers from the Department of Radiobiology, Kasturba Medical College, in India have reported that bael fruit extracts reduce radiation sickness and protect cells against the toxic by-products of the radiation treatment.

This is because the extracts act as natural antidotes to free-radicals, toxins that are produced when the radiation interacts with your tissues. This makes the bael fruit a valuable supplement to use during radiotherapy for cancer.5

What to take for best results

The recommended daily dose is 250mg of the extract, in capsule form, twice a day after meals. There are no contraindications. Pure bael also exists in powder and liquid form, and the dose depends on the particular preparation.